Brothers of Buses | Story of the Boy who never stopped chasing Buses | Season 01, Episode 06
Dear readers, welcome to the sixth episode of Brothers of Buses. The series – Brothers of Buses – is dedicated to the staff members of buses that ply on the roads of Assam and beyond and live through thousands of journeys and millions of stories. This is Their story!
To be frank, the concept of “Botaahe Botaahe”, which refers to sailing along where the wind blows, a carefree spirit of travel/journeying through life has come from these buses. And today, I write about myself and all my brothers who made me feel more than a passenger. Today, I write about where my journey began and a journey that never ends. Today, I write my story behind the stories. Today, I write about the roads that raised me. Today, I write about the journeys that led me here.
Where my journey began:
It was the 90s and I was a young kid, too young to remember everything about the good old days.
Of the things I do not remember and have heard of it retold by elder family members, this one captivates me. My father worked for the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) and the elder family members tell me that when I was a small kid, whenever an ASTC bus passed on the roads and I was a bywatcher, I used to shout "Eikhon Detar Ronga Bus" (This is dad's red bus) or "Eikhon Detar Nila Bus" (This is dad's blue bus) depending upon the colour. To everyone else, it may have been just another bus on the road. To me, it was my father's bus. It carried a sense of belonging, admiration, and love that a little bus lover could feel.
And this is where my journey began - from my father.
Of the things that I do remember, I remember a journey to Guwahati with my father in an ASTC bus. It was night and in parts of the journey, I was awake; in parts, I was asleep. I was too young to have a seat on my own and completed the journey on my father's lap. Buses back then did not have single seats; they were 2x2. Our co-passenger must have been of the same as age as my father. There were moments when I woke up and heard them having a conversation - two strangers sharing words. I did not think of it then, but now as I remember that journey, I think of two Brothers of Buses who met on a journey as co-passengers and parted their own ways.
More than a Passenger:
Bus travel was always an occasional affair for me till I joined Tezpur University for my Masters. It was then when I met Karisma. At first, I was a regular customer who would be seated with other passenger but as time passed by, I was in the cabin and became one among them.
If among the very few good things that Tezpur University gave me, Karisma is special. Sometimes, the bus would be deliberately late by 5-10 minutes so that I could reach town from the University and board it. Treats at ISBT Guwahati post journey were special with all the staff members. And with Karisma, I learnt that I could be more than a passenger; I could be a Brother, a Brother of Buses.
My story behind the stories:
My parents taught me to love buses.
I could see the love in in my father's eyes for his job, for buses and for his people. How we used to travel in ASTC buses, me on his lap, his bonding with the bus staff and the bus staff respecting him; these are what my childhood is full of. Within and among buses, I have grown up and belong.
My mother, when I was a young kid, had a ritual. Whenever we travelled to and from Guwahati, she used put a 'teeka' on my forehead from the mud that accumulates on the tyres of the bus as blessing for a safe journey. And maybe since then, buses somehow has stayed among the likes of God for me.
YATRA:
YATRA and Krishna Daa is special; perhaps the most special among them all. (Read S01E01 here)
YATRA made the journeys while at Dibrugarh University enchanting. Stories of YATRA would not end; be it the one which features Montu, being a Muslim guy, stopping the bus every single time at Burhi Mai Thaan in Kaziranga for me to pray and him bowing down with me or be it the one when none of the staff members inside the cabin smoked a cigarette for more than six hours as a girl was travelling with us in the cabin. On another fine night, we would have finished a packet during the time frame.
Anjaane safar mei kuch jaane pehchaane log
Saade chehron ke bich kuch muskurahat, aur raahat
Bina liye izaazat
Kuch aise hi ban gayi YATRA ek Aadat!
And the most special journey of YATRA, the one with my beloved, shall always be engraved in my heart.
A Journey that never ends:
The journey that began from my father within ASTC buses continued with Karisma, AR Super and YATRA and continues till date with Slumber 37, Rayan, Bholanath and Neelkanth among others. Ahmed Daa, Deori Daa, Babul Daa, Bhaskar Daa, Papu, Mafikul Puali, Islam Daa, Ali Daa, Abir Daa, Gogoi Daa, Piku Daa, Rajiv Daa, Chunu, Nasir, Bishu Daa, Sagar, Ayan and the list goes on; they have become part of my extended family.
I travel by buses, mostly for free as a Brother of Buses, travelling alongside my Brothers of Buses.
They are kind enough to let me travel with them, and I am fortunate enough to receive that kindness. What began as a love for buses slowly became a bond with the people who keep them moving, keeping a culture alive.
I have spent countless hours in bus cabins, sharing roads, conversations, laughter and silence. Over time, I have become a part of the community, a part of the Bus Culture of Assam.
"It's not the destination so much as the journey, they say" once said the great Captain Jack Sparrow. And once you travel in the cabin of a bus especially at night, you realize this to the core.
So, the next time you travel in a bus, make sure to spend a few minutes in the cabin and share a bond with the staff. And if they are not friendly enough to let you do so, remember -
"You are never in the wrong Bus, you might just be there at the wrong moment."
Botaahe. . . Botaahe...
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