upnishad

This is my second year in Hyderabad and I am still awestruck by her. The reverence is absolute and divine. From the very first time I set my eyes on her, the charm of her mesmerizing beauty still enthralls me. I call her 'Bertha'..the 'Big Bertha'. I am talking about THE local bus of Hyderabad. Calling her a bus is an understatement of the highest degree. Look at her. She is the Grand Dame...resembling Judy Dench. Look at the size and the speed (or the lack of it) of this vehicle-extraordinaire. My obsession with this vehicle compelled me to do a bit of research on her origins. The story of Bertha is exciting to the last word and a curious reader can verify the authenticity of this.

Ages ago, Nizam of Hyderabad thought of providing public transport to the dwellers of this city. Naturally, he ordered his minions to rally around and dig some dirt and that sort of things. It was decided that one specific company in Germany be given the order of building this vehicle. Incidentally, the German company used to make 'Tiger' tanks for Hitler during the War.
Upon getting this very lucrative order, they made some 40 buses, all made out of the mould of Tiger Tank. The resemblance of Bertha with her surrogate parent (aka the Tiger Tank) is uncanny and so is the fear induced by her. Anyway, the shipment arrived in Hyderabad amongst great anticipation. It was observed that there was a minor technical glitch...the size of the vehicle was bigger than the roads of the city. The vehicle was put to public service and the same bunch of vehicles still serve the city.

That's not the point. I want to talk about her beauty and her grace that captivates the mind and the soul. First thing you notice about her is that she never moves. No, not even an inch. She makes herself comfortable somewhere on the road and reposes. She epitomizes the most fundamental of the Zen teachings..."Follow the middle path". I have not seen her positioned on the left or the right of the road. She is always on the middle with absolute determination for the path she has chosen. Buddha would have definitely smiled on her. She accommodates some 300 people inside her without any sense of self. I have seen people clinging to her with utmost dedication.

Some chosen ones have the privilege to drive her. Look at these elite class of humanity. Their face exudes the tranquility of Dalai Lama. The never bother what others are doing. I am almost sure that they are asleep while driving. Only thing that disturbs their peace is when someone tries to overtake them. In such an event, you can expect wrath and abuses in incomprehensible language.

I have tried several times to move past her...only to fail miserably. The roads are smaller than her and there is no space to move past her so only option left for the lesser mortals is to stare at her posterior until she decides to move a couple of inches or gracefully lets you pass.

The romance with Bertha started when I saw her for the first time, it matured over time and the feeling of absolute admiration for her deepens day after day. I hope the romance never dies.

Read another romance on the Hyderabad roads here.