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The daily bus ride ADVENTURES IN DHAKA
ASHIF AHMED RUDRO
Do you remember those school days when you had to memorise an essay about a journey by bus? Sure, you must have had experiences of bus travels, but none compares to the commutes by bus within the capital city.
Which one is my bus?
The most important question, and one that often gets the city dwellers in a bit of conundrum — which bus do you take? The confusion is for obvious reasons. There are so many buses, and they all have their own route and indeed, unique styles. Even buses companies that run up and down the same route do not behave the same. Anyone who is a regular commuter knows this and subconsciously, they choose their buses based on these patterns.
My precious
Standing at a bus stoppage in Dhaka makes you feel like you are the “one ring”. They might as well be calling you “my precious”. Everyone wants you. Even if you show no interest in a bus, they will take it upon themselves to make you their person of interest. In some stoppages, the conductors will practically herd you into their bus. But don’t get excited just yet. This adoration for your presence only lasts till you get on the bus. Everything goes downhill from there I’m afraid.
There’s room in the back. Or is there?
“Come on, there’s plenty of room in the back,” is the universal dialogue of the bus conductors and hence, they continuously say “Mama, chap den. Jayga ase toh.” Is that true? Well, depends on who you ask. The bus conductor sees nothing but an empty bus while the passengers can barely breathe in the congestion, let alone find a seat. Some frustrated passengers scold the conductor by saying “Boshabi koi? Tor mathai?” roughly translated to “Where are they supposed to sit? On your head?”
The question of the hour
The question of fare gets the passengers as well as the conductor excited in the blink of an eye. It happens frequently, and there is a difference of opinion about what the right fare is. Most of the time, the difference is not more than TK 5 to Tk 10, but that doesn’t hold back either party from going at each other with vehemence. As a quiet third party, one is often called for their opinion about the fare and other important questions such as “Bhai, ere ki kora uchit kon to?”
Don’t you dare stop. Unless it’s for me
A common tendency amongst most of the passengers is that they get very annoyed whenever the bus halts to pick up new passengers. They will verbally abuse the driver and conductor, both of whom couldn’t care less about the curses aimed at them. However, this sentiment evaporates whenever it’s time to get off the bus. Regardless of where the bus is and how far away it is from the stoppage, most passengers expect that the bus will drop them off exactly where it is convenient for them. A tendency which is arguably one of the reasons for congestions in Dhaka.
Holding onto a metal bar and hanging on for the entire ride is no fun way to ride a bus, but it’s the daily reality of Dhaka residents. It’s a routine task, one that comes with stories, and is nothing short of an adventure. Let’s applaud Dhaka residents for such adventures, multiple times a day and every day of the week.