B. E. S. T. – Is it Best?

After the two day long strike by the B. E. S. T. workers, it was a relief to see the Red Bulls back on the road. Relief because after two days of struggle, it felt good to be back in the bus line.
But, I must say that Bombay is unbreakable… In spite of the absence of buses, life did not stop in Bombay. People here adapt to anything and everything… be it a natural calamity or a strike like this one.
The two days for me were a wonderful experience..
The first day left me a bit irritated in the beginning because of the rickshaw drivers – none of them ready to give me a ride. That left me walking half the distance to office and the other half in someone else’s rickshaw. Four people were seen traveling in rickshaw’s and as it is said that “Every dog has his day”, the rickshaw wallas had not one day, but two days…
The second day was same for me, invading in someone else’s rickshaw !! Haha… it was fun… I seemed as if all the rickshaws in the world were out on the streets of Bombay’s suburbs… I guess even the scrapped rickshaws were out on the streets because many of them were fuming tons of CO2 and CO. The return journey was even more interesting. Many private buses were out on the roads and transporting people for more than double the B. E. S. T. bus tickets… But, who cares about the cost… My return trip to the station was hanging in one such bus…
Come what may, life in Bombay moves with the same pace…
-JC