Life was simpler then and safer too. When I was 4-5 years old which now seems like eons away.
I was discussing on kid safety with my best friend on her recent visit and topic came to that incident that is still etched in my mind.
I used to travel by a school bus to and from school. The bus subcontractor was a trio of three Nair brothers. The drivers and cleaners varied. Once in a while our drivers and cleaners changed along with the bus. This was one such day. My absent mindedness had started then. they had announced that the bus that ran on our route had changed. something that I had conveniently not heard and climbed our prior bus. I didn't realize that the kids are different . The bus was same and so was bus driver (a stout short mustached one ) and cleaner (a Mohammedan , in his late teens, thin, fair skinned and serious cat eyes with the common name like Javed or Rafique). As they went through the new route, I started getting alarmed and till they dropped the last kid, I was lost, completely and almost in tears. "where will you get down beta.." the cleaner asked. Somehow I managed to tell them that this is not the route, but the earlier route the bus took. The driver wordlessly took me through the earlier route . When my stop came, I gleefully told them to stop and the cleaner held my hand and left me till our society gate. He smiled at me and left. I came home happily, least knowing that my worried mother had gone to school to unsuccessfully find me.
Things became more complicated slowly and now the situations are so bad that except parents maybe no one can be trusted but can parents also be trusted?? (?)
Definitely life was simpler then.
