Sparing the rod

There were no really small kids in our bus, when we were studying in Kuwait. The youngest was in class V. The trip to and back from school was relatively peaceful. Most of us caught up on our sleep specially in the morning (our school began at 7am).

One day, after school, I went with a friend to her home and therefore took a different bus. There were only 4 seniors in the bus. Rest were all tiny tots, squeezed 4-5 to a seat! Once the bus started ...oh my god. The kids were everywhere except their seats - half inclined over the back rest, climbing up the large windows, lurching in the aisle and more often than not, flat on their back. Oh and the DIN. It was INCREDIBLE.

The ones in front were, for the lack of a suitable word to describe them, the MOSTEST. I guess they were kept there so that the driver and his helper could keep an eye on them. Except for me, no one batted an eyelid. Certainly not the driver and his helper who carried on a conversation in malyali. The driver would take a turn, stop at the traffic light, change a gear, box a child, pick up another crawling child by his or her galices, pick up the heavy wooden ruler and rap loudly on the engine to stop a child from crawling under his foot to press the brake or something. God.

Now, why this rambling post? Was reminded by the Parliamentary debate before the Trust Vote yesterday and today. Hardly a debate....more an uproar. The Hon'ble Speaker Mr. Somnath Chatterjee's exasperation was so apparent. I was feeling incredibly sorry for him. He goes on and on in his stenorian bengali accented voice,"Will you keep quite? / No I cannot give you more time / Please sit down / This is TOO much / etc!! And even as I was writing this post, he adjourned the session twice and sad this was the worst day that he had ever seen in Parliament.

Pity, the Hon'ble Speaker hasn't been given a heavy ruler to maintain decorum of the hallowed institution. So it is left to his fervent, sad appeals to maintain peace and quiet and dignity of the Parliamentary tradition and all that.