One experience
(This is written just for fun… Please don't accuse me of showing gender bias. For the record, I'm genuinely scared of women!)
As office hours ended, I wrapped up my work and set off for home. Since it was the time when everyone was heading home, every bus that came by was jam-packed with people.
Seeing those crowded buses made me wonder if this is how the mythical Pushpaka Vimana would have looked—no matter how many people got in, there was always room for one more. After a while, the Pushpaka Vimana (bus) I needed to board arrived and stopped.
There were more people trying to get on the bus than those getting off. Usually, when the bus I need arrives, I simply stand amidst the crowd of people trying to board. After the people getting off have alighted, the fellow passengers behind me do the rest of the job, pushing me into the bus without any effort on my part.
As always, that day too, I stood among the crowd, watching those getting off the bus, confident that the crowd behind me would push me in. Once everyone had alighted, the boarding frenzy began, with people pushing each other as though participating in a race.
Suddenly, from somewhere, a young woman emerged, aggressively dragging aside anyone in her way and yelling:
"Move aside! Move aside! Let the women go first. Can't you men wait for a moment?"
Pushing through the crowd, she reached the bus steps, where someone was shouting for people to board quickly.
Watching all this, I decided to say something. I called out, "Hello, madam!" That was it.
"What? What is it?" she snapped, glaring at me with her eyes wide open, bending so close that I felt she might hit me. I got scared and forgot what I wanted to say. Instead, I instinctively bent backward and said,
"From the moment you stepped here, your high heels have been crushing my foot!"
I naively thought she might calm down after hearing that.
But no, she simply stepped off my foot slightly and said, "Oh… Can't you men endure even this much pain?"
I sighed inwardly, wondering where this attitude came from, and gave way for her to board the bus.
Once she went inside, I turned to the elderly man behind me and said, "Sir, it's because of this 33% reservation in buses that girls like her behave this way. It's fine to give them 33% reservation in Parliament or Assembly seats, but if such girls step into legislative bodies, they might not even let men utter a word!"
The elderly man burst into laughter and said, "You're absolutely right!"
After that, with the crowd's usual pushing and shoving, both the elderly man and I were shoved into the bus.
The girl who had bullied her way in earlier somehow managed to secure a seat. She placed her bag on the seat next to her. While others were standing and struggling for space, she seemed to think her bag also deserved a seat! I was internally fuming, but I couldn't say anything aloud.
Just then, the girl said, "Dad, come here. I saved this seat for you."
I was curious to see who her father was—such a lucky man deserved to be honored with a garland of 100 rupees! Turning around, I looked for her father, and my eyes widened in shock.
The elderly man who had laughed at my comment about 33% reservation earlier gently pushed past me and went to sit next to the girl. He whispered something to her, and she turned to glare at me with annoyance.
I instinctively turned away. I wanted to jump off the bus and escape, but the Pushpaka Vimana had already started moving. I couldn't even muster the courage to glance back at them again.
The reason for my fear? That same loose tongue of mine! The elderly man who had laughed and agreed with me when I commented about the 33% reservation was none other than the girl's father. Now, all I could do was anxiously wait for my stop, hoping to get off the bus safely...
Whether I'd manage to alight in peace or not—only time would tell!