Relentless Stares

Taking the public transportation to work can at times be as interesting as intriguing it can be. Having boarded the bus today meant for public transport, I was not too lucky to have found a seat to give my legs some rest and my eyes a toast of the daily news. I had to wait patiently before a passenger gave up the possession of his seat and I got the chance to sit next to a beautiful girl. With public transportation, you get this opportunity to see new faces and occasionally, as in my case today, get lucky to be seated next to a pretty looking girl. After all, standing for a while to get the seat didn’t seem all that bad. I perhaps could have even waited a bit longer if such opportunities were to present themselves.

“The next hour and half would not be too arduous” I told myself. Not that the lady was adjacent to me, but due to the fact that it can be really uncomfortable with the crowd jostling in the cramped space. I pitied the crowd waiting for a seated passenger to alight and with a sympathetic smirk, spread open the news paper to get some dose of the events happening around the world. In some time I was done with the news and it was time for the iPod to come to life. Listening to the iPod meant, my eyes were free and my ears were occupied. I could see the world around me and not the alphabets or the words in the newspaper.

Sometimes, you realize the potential of the object or person beside you from the perspective of others. I realized that the lady beside me was the cynosure of all eyes. Especially the folks, who sit, squat or stand opposite to the direction of the movement of the bus, had taken to keen observance of a beautiful soul seated next to me. I could realize that some of the stares didn’t spare me out of jealousy and, being a man, I can understand how they felt. I held on to my composure and resorted to observing the folks who appeared lost deeply in thoughts. I know what guys think during such times and I was enjoying myself watching the despair of the poor souls.

Time passed and the stares became more and more relentless. Some were not even blinking. I was wondering what was going through her mind. She clearly was defiant of the world of stares and was engrossed in to reading a book and I was very keen to figure out what she read. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to see the face of the book as she flicked pages over pages, and I had to pack up my stuff and alight as the next stop was my destination. I took one quick glace over my shoulder to the bunch of boys and they still were occupied in their world of relentless staring. Long live their thoughts and imaginations, I wished as I alighted. It was a beautiful world out there. Long live the beauties, for the world appears resplendent in thier presence.

-Sandeep Mahagaonkar