I have written about the Infosys buses in the past too but today again I write about the same topic (Same Same but different)

This blog of mine is dedicated to all the one day users of Infy buses. I share the plight 'coz I am one of them.

Disclaimer: This post contains some factual events contaminated with figments of exaggeration. Please do not take all by the word of it. Fact and fiction are mixed up to make it an interesting read. However the underlying message is important.

Well sometimes I travel by bus and as it is sometimes I do not apply for a bus pass.
I have been told the horrific stories of surprise bus pass checks and the humiliation endured. So I decided I would travel legally by signing the One Day User's register.
Last week I nearly used the bus for the whole week. And the week turned out to be quite adventurous for me. Well the incidents were quite different from each other (I appreciate the innovation of Transport people for all of these incidents), so let me break the story into parts and narrate it under different headingsJ.
Well just for the background and a better understanding towards my tragedies; let me give you a short KTJ. From the bus stop closest to my place (Deepmala society) three buses ply to Infosys – greyeno (read grey), Greeno (read green) and whiteno (read white). Greyeno has ODUR (read One day users register) and others don’t.

Monday Blues:
This was the first day when I was using the one day-one Way services from Infosys Transport Services. I chose Whiteno for my first day (it was first to arrive).
As a responsible employee I asked the bus driver for ODUR. “I don’t have it, besides its okay!!” the bus driver responded with a hand gesture. I don’t know exactly what was that suppose to mean but I understood I was being dismissed from ‘His Excellency’s’ presence. The bus began to move and I noticed Lord Driverji shaking his head for while. “What a ridiculously small matter I had put up when there was too much to do for the Lord, Caretaker of numerous lives in the Bus” I said to myself, sounding surprisingly stupid to my own ears. I was grateful for this generous act of the Lord Driverji. Well I wasn’t caught by transport department of Infosys and so my day went ahead very well (day started with a free ride J).

Super Tuesday:
I was more confident today after a free ride of Monday. I went to the bus stop as usual but I missed Whiteno and boarded Greyeno for the day. Posing as a responsible employee, I asked for the ODUR (hoping to hear a NO). Well, Driverji had an ODUR but ordered me to sign it once we reach the destination. Abiding by the Orders of Lord Driverji, I went and settled down in my seat. After reaching the destination, I again asked for the ODUR. I was given the register with questioning looks for my sanity (I was signing it even without any checking on). I later realized I had blocked the perennial flow of people from the bus towards the greater human stream at Infosys. After all these mishaps, I quickly got down from the bus without looking back (at the half sleepy, iPod listening confused and amused faces with enquiring looks L) and got mixed in the sea of human bodies.

Wednesday (Tuesday Reloaded):
It was a clear day and I had slept quite well. Life was settling down in the schedule of 11 to 6 at office and future looked assuring. Today even my kinetic was not fixed and I had to take the bus. I took Greyeno once again. This time I did not ask for the register at the source of journey and decided to wait till the destination. Lord Driverji looked assuring with an unkempt but peaceful appearance and the huge steering in hand. He appeared as an incarnation of God Shiva and God Vishnu in himself (the preserver and the destroyer).
Well, now I am straying from the topic. When we reached Phase 1, a surprise bus check was being conducted. I told them I was about to sign the ODUR and revered Driverji asked me to do so at the destination. The person conducting the check, a small corpulent human, gave me a smile and asked me to sign the sheet in his hand. “But this is for fine”, I revolted and suddenly everybody around me was laughing aloud. I signed the sheet with embarrassment. For the rest of the journey I permitted my gaze to wander off outside the bus and never return to the insides of the bus. Today with this incident a responsible employee in me died and I became a revengeful soul.

Thursday Fears:
By now the angry revengeful being that was born yesterday was dead and I was a harmless mortal once again. Well, 11 o’clock bus was becoming more or less a daily activity and today I boarded Whiteno. I asked for the ODUR and was shrugged off by preserver of all bus travelers. I settled down in my seat, building a solid defense in my mind in case of a surprise bus check. At phase 1 my eyes kept on looking for probable bus check but all transportwalahs were standing lethargically sunning themselves with no intention of taking the trouble of checks. I was disappointed for all my preparation was to be wasted. I hoped to encounter a check at Phase2 but that also did not take place.
Unable to keep myself within sanity limits, I went to transport desk and lodged a complaint against Whiteno stating that this bus does not have an ODUR.
A black man with large eyes gave me a hard look from behind the desk, trying to make sense out of my complaint. “Please check with the driver for ODUR first and do not travel by the bus which does not have an ODUR”, he informed me in an irritated tone keeping his gaze fixed. I was perplexed!

Casual Friday:
Thankfully today morning I got a lift from my roommate and I need not travel by the bus.
But however in the evening I could not secure lift for myself and decided to take 4 o’clock bus. To make the entry in ODUR, I went and asked security for the register. They sent me to the other side of the gate, from where I was sent to the transport desk inside the security office. Finally I found the register kept equidistant from both the gates outside the office. I signed the ODUR with a triumphant smile. I settled down in the bus feeling safe and secure but it wasn’t over. A tall guy with unforgiving countenance entered the bus for a check I told him I had signed the register. “We do not consider the register for Fridays. Buy the 10 Rupees ticket”, he said stretching out the ticket towards me. I paid for the ticket and a week full of adventures was over.

Well, this was my story. I think I will perish in this world of bad roads, inefficient public conveyance, AC offices and population boom. Still I will keep writing before I finally perish.