Debt

Over the past few days I've had hectic travelling to and from DCAC. After the long journey of about an hour by metro, I have to board a public bus going the direction of my college. The metro station at Central Secratariat is a huge and sophisticated one(perhaps because of the magnificence and importance of the area), and one needs to be clear of one's sense of direction, as there are so many exits that it definitely becomes confusing. To board the bus, I was making my way towards the Krishi Bhavan exit the other day, when I overheard a conversation of a newcomer asking guidance from someone to reach his destination which was incidentally the same as mine. The local could not help him a great deal, and then I went upto him to not only guide him but also have company(as it is so boring travelling alone).

The man was undoubtedly a Bengali, revealed by his accent and tone of speech. He was relieved to have found someone to help him out. We crossed the road and waited for a long, long time before the much-anticipated bus no.610 arrived at the stop, and at 9:30 in the morning, it was overloaded. Our man seemed to suffer from claustrophobia-his face contorted a great deal when he witnessed the amount of people that were pushing and shoving inside the vehicle, so he held my hand to stop me from boarding it. I resisted as I did not have enough money to manage an auto travel, but that wasn't a problem for him. Interestingly, he followed me inside the bus with some reluctance. Conductor asked for the tickets and he immediately said,"Sarojini Nagar market for two". I had a ten-rupee note in my hand but could not prevent him from paying for me. I was wonderstruck. When I expressed my displeasure at this, this man from Garia in Calcutta replied,"You shouldn't pay-atleast I got a friend to guide me".

To me, it was a bit too much to take in as I'd done nothing but manage an accompanist who'd travel with me. He resisted the heat and did not mind the foul body smell of more than a thousand people inside the bus just because of me. I was feeling embarrased to see the droplets of sweat on his face. When we deboarded at Sarojini Nagar after some time, I immediately apologised to him to which he replied,"No, no need to say sorry, after all it's just one day". I wondered what to say next, before he himself went his direction and I took the way to my college. There was a sense of disappointment in my heart, and I kept on analysing why that man behaved the way he did. I mean, there was nothing special in what I had done, and by suffering due to bus journey and paying up for me, he did not fail to bring me into heavy debt. And to think that he thought it was his way of expressing gratitude!