Bus

Liked the story. Can identify with on the loneliness felt by Padma. Just the mere fact that someone is ``recognizing`` her presence, albeit in a pysical manner causes her to react to him.

If people are offended by the physical nature of the story, consider a person like her getting a repeated blank phone call, and she waiting for it wanting the other person to say ``something``. Just talking to ``her`` as an individual.

Also liked the bambaiyya touch . Green vinyl seats, Maneuvering in to position to get a seat:)) Nostalgic.

thanks

Hi Sucheta,

Very lively explained the daily affair of a Bombaite woman [ now Mumbain].

To confess, I was also a person belonging to the elbow in those olden days, in 1970s. Only difference, is that I did not get the longing for desire, like Padma. Either my Padma goes away from me with an angry look, or muttering, ``why dont you stand properly, man?`` and growing myself to around 40.

May be your Padma was one, I had not noticed.

You can view some of my stories, if you like. under my name kasi.

Thanks for your time.

AmericanFOB # 42 - Hi. Thanks for reading this old story. My first on chowk and one that has evoked a variety of reactions! Indeed I find `sad` is what I feel the story is. Surprisingly, not many seem to have caught up on that fundamental fact. Take care.

just read the story...thought it was awesome, very well written...sad too

Rahul # `40

Happy that you liked the story - funnily though; writing it, my mind wasnt much on the sex aspect of it... believe it or not. It was so much a part of the way her life goes.

I have been startled by the reactions - maybe I should have expected them!

As far as the other questions you have raised go, like why wouldt a woman seek something besides the ~ main course~ as you put it... well, it can be different for each person I suppose. Traditionally, men have had the economic power and the mobility which could afford them more opportunities to do so.

In the changing situations of today, wonder which way women choose to go.

Yes, gropers, eve teasers have scarred many women. I am not justifying the Mr Elbows behaviour neither Padmas totally unexpected reaction to it.


Thats the writers imagination, but it is still credible isnt it?

Thanks again for reading the story and taking the trouble to write back about it.

Regards,

Sucheta

Liked the story.Well written.
In the sub-continent, and to some extent in the rest of the world too,
women writing about sex is a bit like coming out.
We men have to come out of the image of women as monogamous Sati Savitris.
This story takes a step towards breaking that sterotype. Hence it is important.
There is some background about her loneliness etc.
I wonder, why wouldn`t a woman do it just for a little more play on the side, even if the main course is available?
Is it because it is too risky?
I would think a man would,or rather,most of them would, if the opportunity so arises.
Of course,being a Mr. Elbow is an entirely different thing altogether
I wonder what this story would have been , from his point of view.
Mr. Elbows of the world do what they have to, and i dont think they do so because they are lonely.
As an aside,I hope this story does not take away from the reality that most of the women, to my knowledge,are outraged from the gropers and the eve-teasers.
They do cause a lot of nuisance, and in some cases even bruise the lives of girls and women of all ages.And besides, I would think there would be other and safer ways to get action.

Like soulkeeper said u shud be a painter :)

This indeed is a bold story & toying with the idea of being considered porn but nonetheless beautifully written. Draws a picture of every scene in one`s head & sets in a sort of depression when they realize how her life has treated her, her attempt to escape from the loneliness after the death of her parents was fruitless. Her misery was explained well & there are times when we all feel miserable, hopeless, helpless & stuck in a situation like she is in her`s.

Keep up the good work.

Been lurking on Chowk since 1998 (I think). Time to start posting.

First off, great stuff Ms. Potnis. A story both poignant and arousing. And written by a desi woman. (Not that this is the first example I`ve seen). Three cheers.

Dear Urstruly,
Interesting, how we look at ``high art`` or a nude by Raphael as somehow being of more worth than ``low art`` or mere smut.

``high art consists of the meticulous expression in fine materials of refined or noble sentiment, appreciation of the former depending on such things as intelligence, social standing, educated taste, and a willingness to be challenged. Low art is the shoddy manufacturing in inferior materials of superficial kitsch, simply catering to popular taste, unreflective acceptance of realism, and a certain ``couch potato`` mentality.`` [1]

I`m not so sure about whether we should condemn Debby Does Dallas (it`s been adapted theatrically [2] and has been called one of the ``classics of adult film`` [3].

On the other hand,

````Art`` has long functioned as a code word for erotica in certain contexts. Phrases like ``art photos,`` ``art films,`` ``art house`` have all been coopted by clever entrepreneurs to market porn — soft and hard — to audiences who could more easily accept the idea under this respectable rubric. (It was also one way to confuse law enforcement.) In the sixties the term ``art film`` could mean a Bergman masterpiece, an Andy Milligan sleazefest, or a tasty slice of Radley Metzger Euro-erotica.``[4]

For a discussion on High Art, Low Art, Erotica and Porn (best to capitalise these beasts), visit this link [5]

Cheers,

Aniruddha `Karim` Shankar

[1] http://www.jahsonic.com/HighArt.html
[2] http://www.showbusinessweekly.com/archive/202/debbie_dallas.shtml
[3] id.
[4] http://www.jahsonic.com/Art.html
[5] http://www.bookslut.com/columns/0403/marquise.htm

23 Veeresh

Hi

One could choose the bus if the train station would be a bit too much of a walk??

There are indeed a few stops between Working Girls` hostel and Nariman Point - but, not of relevance to our stoty since Mr Elbow`s destination was Wilson college.. see?

:-)

Glad you enjoyed the story nonetheless. And well, there are no secrets here.....

Cheers

Sucheta

intersting story...is this real life??

i can certainly understand her loneliness....

been four months married, and living on the other side of the world from my other half...
but do these kind of things, i mean in pakistan, do they really happen??

i wonder how her husbands loneliness is dealt with? :|

Dear Irfan,
# 31
many thanks for your response..

Yes, loneliness comes in various ways, colours and densities, shapes and sizes. And no, of course, women are not the only ones who feel it....

People who are forced to work away from their families due to whatever pressures, obviously lead a lonely life. There are short term separations and then there are long term ones - like so many men working in the Gulf, where it is possible to take your family only beyond a certain level etc.

Yes, sure Prashant would have his loneliness to contend with too, how he does that is not my story though - I don`t know enough about men to be able to write that story.. I am sure, that there are many out there who can and I would LOVE to read them.

And then there are people who are lonely despite being in a `together` situation. Alienation can be very real even despite someone physical presence.

As I said, loneliness has so many shapes..

Whether Padma will seek more gratification elsewhere or not, I don`t know. I left her walking back to her office after her encounter with Mr Elbow.

I am not making any moral judgements at all. What I do know that hers is a sorry plight - she has the husband with whom she should have explored the world of love. For whatever reasons; not enough time, not a sensitive enough partner and not sufficient affection etc, it didn`t hapen to her.

To me, BUS is about loneliness and the chance awakening of a new dimension of sensations..

Thanks again for your feedback.

SAMINASHA
#32

Hi. Thanks for your response.

At times, many choose to `put it` a few years in strained circumstances so that they have a little leg up when they return to normal world. This is not only true of blue collar workers but also many white collar people who choose to do a few years so that they have a bit of money saved when they return to their home land. This would hold true of the armed forces, the merchant navvy guys and so many more.

It isn`t only dire economic threats that make people take the decision of taking on lonely jobs..In a middle class family where you may not have an inheritance to fall back upon, this is considered quite normal.

I am not sure about how things go in Pakistan, but in India, it is very common that a `boy` working overseas comes to India for 15 days - the first week devoted in `looking over` girls short listed by parents and then the next week getting married, having a honeymoon and then rushing back.! There are literally hundreds such stories one hears.

A friend of mine who got married to a guy from the US in such a fashion, wailed a few weeks after the groom left again for the US. `I cannot even REMEMBER his face..`

How very sad is that!

Thanks again.

Sucheta

Many of my Mumbai friends use a word which sounds like `buskiya`. From what I can figure it means `enough already`. I wonder if this unique word would have been a better title for Sucheta`s excellent narrative, rather than the rather tame sounding `Bus`.

Normally I would finish reading a piece and then commence to write my feelings about it. This time however, I have been compelled to take a break not even midway through the story.

[From time to time, a girlish laugh would escape her, startling anyone who happened to hear it. A strange and spooky sound out of a mouth-full of crooked teeth, and dried up lips with dried crust of saliva bracketing it.]

Sucheta:

You should have been a painter.

rgds,

Karim

Those are good points. What are the economic circumstances that force Padma into a life of servility equal to the example you raised.

Also, Prashant`s career is not disclosed.

Other side of the coin:

Pornography or not, that is a debatable issue. Everyone seems to be sympathetic to Padma`s plight, and so am I. However, I give you some food for thought to chew over.

About a year ago, I visited the UAE. While taking a taxi, I started chatting with the driver who was a pathan. I found out that it had been 2 years since he had gone home. The guy told me that when he goes home his kids usually don`t recognize him (the younger ones) and in a roundabout way he let me know that his wife doesn`t feel comfortable with him either.

When I asked him why he doesn`t return, he says his family is now used to the money he makes in the UAE and if he shifted to Pakistan and drove a taxi they wouldn`t be able to maintain their lifestyles. He had tried to shift back to Pakistan a couple of years after he got married but his wife and parents dissuaded him. So now he drives a taxy from 6 in the morning till midnight every day.

Now, here`s the crux; Padma gets the gratification in the bus, and presumably, otherwise as well. In short, Padma can ``seek life elsewhere``. Whereas her husband, who probably shares a shabby apartment with about 5 other guys, has no ``scope and/or potential`` for gratification. He lives in squalor and sends out almost all of his pay so his family can have a relatively lavish lifestyle.

Regards,
Irfan Hamid.

PS: Padma also has her children with her, which can be an excellent panacea for loneliness, but her husband is the one who is REALLY lonely.

re: #22

```Amazingly, none of the men have objected to my broad statement ‘Like the other millions of his fellow country-men, it did not even occur to him to check whether his wife had felt any pleasure.` ``

Are you all going to let me get away with that?

Apparently no one felt that line was disputable...


Amir Ansari,

My only qualm with the bus groping was that the sensations that Padma felt seemed to be cliched. I would assume part of the pleasure that the character Padma and her groper felt was that of transgression-and there is none of that heightened awareness of this factor in the description.

The thing that was interesting about the bus grope was that in this case, it was consensual. 99.9% of bus gropes are unwanted and assaultive and so I`d be wary of the stereotype that everyone loves a pervert. But I think the writer made the grope plausible...I mean the way it was set up made it quite believable.

The other subtext of the bus grope was that Padma was able to feel pleasure-something that is woeful denied her in her life.