Life in 25 Kms.

Life as a techie is challenging...
The Bus to Work

It was only Tuesday and the week was young, just like me. There were four more days to go for that sweet can of beer cooling in some fridge. My fingers could already feel the condensation on the outside of the can. Unfortunately, the alert on my laptop reminded me of the numb keys i had been pushing for the last half hour.
It was the fourth of October. Bus Day. Though the company offered generously to send a cab to pick me up, I wanted to go by the stuffy, over crowded Volvo, just for kicks.
Don't judge me yet! Any change from routine was a kick for me.
The rush hour traffic was already building up en route to the great tech-parks of 'White Field'. Truckloads of men and women milled at junctions, here and there, ID cards dangling from necks and pockets, laptops in hand, straightened hair and crisp white shirts. We were all tagged. A species of our own, we could sniff out others of our herd.
Just as life continued at snail's pace, three girls got in. One sat next to me and two, opposite.
"So what colour is it?"
"Peacock blue. It matches my iPod. Cool na?"
The clan of the H.R. Human Resources.
An overpowering whiff of something sickeningly sweet swept into my nostrils. That much amount of perfume was potent enough to knock out a dog!
They chattered on and on, only to stop and start giggling.
Suddenly a soft hand brushed up against mine. I immediately moved away, just in case. It's dangerous being a boy in between so many girls. One accidental glance or badly timed rush to the door could get a guy in a heap of trouble!
For a while the annoying snickering, chattering irritated me. What was so funny? Perhaps i had dropped chutney on my shirt again. Damn! There was nothing i could do now. Fine. Whatever it was that got them giggling, I had to drown it out. My lead had already called me twice and morning deployments were getting delayed.
Soon, the chattering became background buzz. The laughing became quiet chuckles and i could hear the girl next to me breathe.
I realized just then that she was a girl. An individual of the opposite gender of my species. Am I supposed to feel something more? Were you expecting me to?
Just out of curiosity, I threw her a glance. Her head was bent demurely over her phone.
What a beauty! How could i not have seen that before? The iPhone. The mother of all touch screens. Steve Jobs was a god (all hail!). 4.5 X 2.31 X 0.37 cubic inches of sheer genius. I couldn't stop ogling at it.
Like a bolt of lightning the screen lit up.
'He's hot!'
I didn't mean to read it, but i couldn't unglue my eyes from that piece of work!
'He's looking at your phone..'
Quickly, i ripped my eyes away (ouch! That hurt!), and focussed on the deployment status.
A whole burst of loud, shrill laughter erupted from the stout girl in front and was accompanied by horse like neighing from the girl next to her. Ony iPhone girl was laughing in modestly. Girls!
The next fifteen minutes were spent in trying to keep from looking at the phone and restraining myself from strangling the fat girl's throat. She was still laughing!
"Patience, Deepak." I chanted and continued looking at my screen.
The bus was starting to get oppressive, even for a Volvo. Kannada music blaring from the speakers was unbearable. My head began to pound. Deployment or no deployment, i shut the lid of my laptop, pulled out my cell phone, plugged in the earphones and closed my eyes for a moment, only to open them in the next.
The minutes ticked by and traffic was crawling. The buffalo on the side of the road gave me a doleful look before continuing to fertilize the parthenium bush. The 'namma metro' workers were yelling obscenities at the BMTC bus drivers and my eyes started to close.
All though my limbs were stiff from the way I was sitting, I felt a definite pressure on my foot. A four inch long heeled shoe was resting against my nice Woodlands. The nerve!
"Excuse me..."
No answer. I looked around to face her.
What a striking beauty! How could i have not seen that before? The eyes. Half closed. looking glassily at the world outside, framed by thick lashes that generated a little whirlwind in me every time they fluttered. My voice died in my throat. The sweet perfume sailed into my senses and I couldn't get enough of it. Her cherubic face was shrouded in black ringlets and her head was bobbing with the movement of the bus manoeuvring through the pot-holes and two wheelers. If only she would rest it on my shoulder, I would denounce Jobs! she would be my new deity.
Her heeled shoe was slowly moving away from my boot. I quickly thrust it back under it, lest she should realize that it wasn't a foot rest. Those soft hands were but a centimetre from mine. If only I had a ring! But the closest thing i had was a DVD and that would look like a 'Vishnu Chakra' on those slender fingers. If she could just wait here, in the bus, I could run out and get something remotely ring-like. A key chain maybe? Anything! My love, my life, my - wait! I didn't know her name, and her ID card hung out of sight. Well, iPhone goddess would just have to do.
For the rest of the traffic signal, we sat there. She in her oblivion and me in my misery. Her petal feet on my boot, her hand a centimetre from mine. Her eyes, half closed, looking glassily at the grazing buffalo, and me wanting to be that blessed animal. The hours passed with her foot on mine...