I have been riding in the bus for more than a dozen years and believe me when I say – I was fascinated by every single one of them. I have had experiences out of which some were good some bad and some just spooky. But, I have to admit that somewhere along these memories I started embracing this viable mode of transportation. Here’s a document of my one such journey from Lovely Professional University to Phagwara, Punjab.
The dream of becoming a National Geographic or Discovery Photographer is something that every one of us has had in our lives. I have this dream too. To turn this dream into a reality, I came to this University in 2016 for pursuing my Bachelors in Journalism. I was well aware of the possibilities of coming hundreds of miles away from home to a completely different state but the only thing pushing my decision was my dream. Not only I wanted to capture the essence of lives on this planet but also wanted to write about them. ‘Writing’ was something that came along as I started photography at the age of 9. I used to wander in the neighboring streets, trying to find random subjects to write on. I was doing the same on November 1st when I boarded the early morning bus from LPU to Phagwara. It was a noteworthy experience that changed a lot of things for me that day.
I stepped out the university campus at 6:10 am that morning, my heavy breathing slowly subsiding as I stopped at the front gate waiting for the bus. I looked at the people scattered around me as they were too anticipating its arrival. As it was early in the morning, the fog was still visible under the street lights and soon I realized the lack of warm clothes on my body. I was wearing my summer t-shirt with a pair of joggers and converse which was obviously not enough to help me with the cold. My train of thoughts suddenly halted from the loud honking from the bus that just arrived at the stop. A small but boisterous army of passengers ran hurriedly to board the bus at once. Their boarding was accompanied by the barking of the street dogs in frantic tones. I sloppily climbed up to get a seat just near the window when I realized how the wind will freeze me to death before I reach my destination. Nevertheless, I sat down and placed my camera on my lap. The bus kick-started with a rough jerk that forced me to look up and hold the bar behind the front seat. I sat back and started looking around the chaos of passengers, trying to focus on any one of them. I like to observe and study life. I do it whenever I go somewhere, it’s a natural tendency as I am overly curious about stuff like this. There’s a man wearing Khaki Kurta who seems like a merchant from the register and bulk of goods he has kept underneath his seat. He’s relaxed and chewing something peacefully of which I thought he owns a business and is not worried about his future. My eyes then shifted to a guy that just boarded the bus, sweating profusely from his little sprint to catch the bus. He was an LPU student too, I realized as I looked at his ID card similar to mine. He may be going back home or to another interview as he was quite decently dressed up for an early morning ride. There was this woman behind me who was struggling to handle her 3 over-enthusiastic kids. She was trying to eat some food on her way to work but the kids were too young to get that. She looked like a day laborer or mine worker from her appearance. I felt sorry for her but was inspired by her constant efforts to manage both the things at same time.
It doesn’t take long to reach Phagwara from my university, 10 – 15 minutes approximately, long enough to give you sights worth wondering about. From urban settlements and chic modern mall sprawl, you can see the extremes of Indian poverty. Exploited workers and wealthy businessmen were starkly juxtaposed in the same blink. Villages flanked by billboards which were advertising luxury high-rise living units and gated communities casting the perverse irony and conflict of India’s emerging modern age. Trickling down economy was what I thought of once I got off the bus. In that single ride, I saw struggle, settlement, hardship and many elements of life we often ignore. I was inspired to say the least. My photographs didn’t turn out so well that day, but my perspective towards life definitely took a hit.
