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A woman with the potential to make it big. It is not that she cannot: she simply will not.
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The closest anyone has come to being an adopted daughter.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The bus

Long, long ago there was a kingdom. And like it happens in all kingdoms, there was a king. Hence the name.

There was also a queen. There were also some very wise ministers, clad in brightly coloured turbans. There were also some valiant generals wielding arrogant moustaches and whiskers. There was a competent army and a perpetually overflowing treasury. The river never dried out. The farms always yielded the ripest of crops. The horses were vigorous, the elephants grotesque, the cattle fertile.

In short, the kingdom was preposterously prosperous and the men were outrageously happy. They always laughed, drank ale and made merry.

Not too far from the palace (but not too close either) lived a man. He was so blatantly ordinary-looking that you'd struggle to remember his face even if you saw it a thousand times. He always wore one of those checkered shirts that one refers to as bush-shirts; and ordinary trousers. His shoes were not always polished, his hair was salt-and-pepper, he wore horn-rimmed glasses and he had an clean yet unorganised look to his face.

He was about fifty.

He had a family.

He had a wife who always wore nice clothes, talked to people and laughed loudly and danced at parties. She was very proud of her life: comfortable, stylish and social.

He had a son who came out with flying colours in his MBA and managed to acquire a substantial salary. He was very proud of his life: smart, suave and sleek.

He also had an attractive daughter who was a good student, sang well and was engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors of the land. She was very proud of her life too: full of dreams of all sorts.

He also had a job.

It was a job that paid well. It was not something that he enjoyed doing a lot, but it indeed came with a lot of perks. Every morning he went to his job in bush-shirts and trousers and earned his money in a bored, ordinary sort of way. In fact, he was so ordinary that he often turned up for work in a safari suit!

He also had his friends. Three of them.

They met for dinner every weekend. They played bridge, discussed politics, drank whisky and ate tandoori chicken, then a light dinner. Their families often went on holiday packages and had their photographs taken in front of glamorous tourist spots using the latest SLR cameras.

All was well.

***

Then suddenly, one day, the ordinary man saw an ordinary, dilapidated bus. It was a bus so old that even the route number and the destination were not legible, and it seemed that it could fall off any moment.

The ordinary man did a strange thing. He took out his cellphone from his pocket, gently placed it on the pavement and took the bus. And never came back.

Just like that.

31 comments:

  1. Is it inspired by the mystery couple from Goa? Ghyama

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  2. যাহা চাই, তাহা ভুল করে চাই, যাহা পাই, তাহা চাইনা... Or alternatively, খ্যাপা খুঁজে খুঁজে ফেরে পরশপাথর!!

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  3. kahAnI thO achAnak bus hO gaYI! I am still digesting this and making something out of it....

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  4. So he was no longer "be-bus"... but still "be-kaar" ;) ?

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  5. :( I love you! Quit what you are doing. Start writing. Full time. I am serious!

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  6. hm. Ei ta satty bhalo likhechhis. Motamuti ja dekhchi prati 5-6 tay ekta thikthak hoy, tui prati 5th ba 6th tai publish koris ebar theke, kemon? ar baki energy ta jeta bolechhilam setay laga.

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  7. inspiration,inspiration...?what was the inspiration?
    i've seen this happen in real life.YES.

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  8. Nothing happens 'just like that'.Give us a glimpse into his psyche next.

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  9. Wonder if he was "bus"ted for that. I really hope the ordinary man had an extraordinary life after that.

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  10. I have run, I have crawled
    I have scaled these city walls
    These city walls
    Only to be with you

    But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
    But I still haven't found what I'm looking for ...Bono

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  11. GOD NO!
    is this a cue?

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  12. i cried when I read this...

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  13. bhalo lekha hoyechhe..porte bhalo laage
    tobe lokta keno palalo kothay palalo k jane?

    on a lighter note..golpe keu more ni..mare ni..pagol o hoy ni..eta onno rokom

    aro lekho..aro bhalo lekho

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  14. ovi babu,what about the kingdom talked aboyut at the beginning?

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  15. bus aise hi woh bus leke chala gaya? bus ab ek novel ho jaaye? kya bolta tu?

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  16. this happens 2 me so often.... v often I feel like throwing away my fone n leave 4 a long, unplanned trip..

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  17. Ahha... Everyone of us sometimes wish for that bus, down't we?
    This a wonderful piece, Abhishekda... very true, very heart warming.
    time to go beyond your blog... please give it a serious try.

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  18. see the poin t,had you written this in bengali,i'd have missed it:'(

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  19. 3 people want you to go beyond your blog! need more boosting??

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  20. thinking.... and thinking.. and again thinking

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  21. Bus e window seat er moto araam aar kothhao nei...jaak ultimately uni seta bujhhlen.. i m happy :)

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  22. reminded me of "ek din achanak". good one.

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  23. .,¡i|¹i¡¡i¹|i¡,.
    `'¹li¡|¡|¡il¹'`



    .,¡i|¹i¡¡i¹|i¡,.
    `'¹li¡|¡|¡il¹'`
    (-+-Luv Ya-+-)

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  24. on some lucky days i share my morning coffee with your post.it always gives me food for thought.
    thank you.

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  25. Just Like that...
    Wow amazing piece of writing.... so nicely narrate..loved the flow. Strangely the story was sad.
    Clearly depicts that how in spite of having almost everything some ppl r not happy inside. That strange void inside his heart only responsible for the decision he made "just like that"

    Fantastic read !!

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  26. Good one!

    This time I won't criticize you - though there are many things could be discussed. However, I strongly suggest you not to write any more story for next 2 months. Write whatever you wish, but no more story.

    This time I will give you 7 out of 10.

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  27. Tomar style ta just darun. Khub chhoto galpo, tar moddhe khub impressive duekta idea ar tomar ekanto nijer kichhu style thasha.

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  28. Awesome!! expecting more like this!!

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  29. This is my favourite post of yours. FAVOURITE. In capital letters. (Why? No prizes for guessing) :)

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