11 km in 2 hours!

Coming back after a long day's work, without a mode of transport, is hell.

No car on Friday, nor a bike, and I travelled by 3 modes to get home--and it took me 2 hours! Would a brisk walk have been quicker?

7:00 p.m.: The rains. Totally unprepared for them.

Then, I walk from Ascendas to Tidel (auto guys asked for Rs. 170 to come to Mambalam. Y'day at 4 p.m., it was just Rs. 100, but today, it's the rain+time+traffic factor, they explained nicely.)

7:10 p.m.: I ask an auto guy at Tidel Park, and he asks for Rs. 140 (one would think Ayyappa samis would be more reasonable, but no, siree!)

7:15 p.m.: I take a share auto to Madhya Kailash, and realize, to my horror, that I have no change--only a 100-rupee note. (I hand it over to the share auto guy with trembling hands, but he's a king soul--he fishes out his last ten-rupee note and gives me the change.)

7:30 p.m.: Am waiting for a bus at Madhya Kailash bus stop. I take a super-crowded 5B, thinking I'll come to the T. Nagar Bus Terminus, and someone can pick me up from there (someone from home, that is!)

7:45: Traffic is choking, and we're still near Raj Bhavan. The bus splutters to a complete halt. A few guys get out and push the bus. In between, there's a small fight in the bus--a guy is accused of misbehaving with a woman. He says it's the crowd--it's not like he wanted to. Just peak bus traffic, as usual. The bus reluctantly starts, but soon gets going. Only, the traffic doesn't. I have moved to the front of the bus.

I'm trying to take a picture for this post, but the shake is too much. And I turn to see a man looking directly at the screen of my phone. Cannot expect privacy in a crowded bus--my life is a free-for-all screen in a crowded bus. Here's what it looked like, anyway.

The driver cribs about how irritated he is to drive these days--the traffic is just too much. "Veruppa irukku," he tells the guy standing next to him. The guy says, somewhat in reply, "Don't go to the extreme left of the road, and then try to go right, you'll get stuck." The driver bristles at this. "I know what to do--you don't have to tell me," he says, suddenly aware of his position. "Konjam vitta podhum (Give a camel an inch and he takes a metre)," he mutters. Passengers, it seems, must be just that, and understand the hierarchy of a bus ride--it's the driver, conductor, and then the passengers, in that order.

8:00 p.m.: The traffic has sort of eased. The bus speeds down Mount Road, but I start getting a bit claustrophobic. I need to get out. I get off at the stop before Saidapet. It starts raining heavily. I try to hail an auto--he won't come to Mambalam. The rain eases up a bit, and I walk in the general direction of home. I stop at McRennett's and get myself a bun.

8:15 p.m.: I consider autos that are lined up in an auto stand, but don't. Stand autos are notorious for their rowdyism, I hear. Must be strength in numbers, because isn't every auto man part of a stand, somewhere? I look at an auto that is standing in front of a tea stall, but a blind man is passing by, and the auto guy runs to help him. I pause, and keep walking. In two minutes, the auto stops in front of me, and he agrees to the fare--Rs. 50. I get in, and chat a bit with him. The traffic really kills them, he says. The ride is pleasant enough, and I'm at home at 8:45 or so.

P.S.: I like the rains, like when it's raining now, over the weekend :)

P.S. 2: I made the map, but not sure why--just seemed pretty cool.