Total time pass!

 It has been raining since the day we reached Mumbai and of course as the days go by Isaac has been getting more and more bored … leading to more and more whining and leading to more and more fighting with Ziva. Finally after one week of watching it rain and realizing that there was no place to take him that would not be wet I took matters into my own hand. It was time to teach my son to do ‘timepass’ … the Mumbai way … i.e. TOTAL TIMEPASS.

                                                     Isaac standing in from of the BEST bus stop

As you exit the gate of my mother’s building there is a bus stop. The bus no most common there is 240. There are a few more buses as I would soon learn. I did not know where 240 went but I did know that it passed via Borivali station. I got Isaac and ready on Monday morning. Put Ziva to sleep want left her in the excellent care of my mother and went down to the 240 bus stop. It has been a very long time since I have taken the 240 bus and so for the first 10 minutes Isaac and I stood on the wrong side of the road waiting for the bus. With every ticking minute Isaac got more and more impatient. ‘Where is the bus amma?’. Finally I asked a shop nearby and they directed me to the correct location. As we walked a bit and then crossed the road at the signal, I saw a 240 bus coming along. I picked Isaac and ran to the bus stop while waving madly at the bus. I don’t know whether it was my outlandish looks or the fact that I had a kid in my hand but the driver waited. We got in and even before could get a grip the bus jerked into gear and caused Isaac and me to swing around. Isaac rather gleefully, me a little annoyed. I think as adults we loose some of our sense of fun!

We sat down and I looked at the conductor (ticket giver) and said ‘One Bhagwati hospital and does he need a ticket’ pointing to a puny 2.5 year old who was way too thrilled! Conductor ‘How old is he?’ Me ‘Two’. Conductor ‘No ticket. Only after he is three. Seven Rupees’. I considered telling him that Isaac would turn 3 in one month but I had lost the conductor who had moved on to other travelers. Isaac sat at a window and since the seats were high he was able to see outside. We got off at our stop and I was contemplating some shopping and decided to check with Isaac. Me ‘Isaac what do you want to do now’. Isaac ‘I want to go in another bus!’ I looked down at his bright eyes and I thought oh well shopping could wait… today we would be doing some total timepass! We got into another 240 buses that came in 3 minutes and I said ‘Borivali Station’ assuming that would be the last stop. Conductor ‘Five Rupees’. We sat in the bus and I saw Borivali station come. The conductor came to me and said ‘This is your stop’. Me handing him money: ’I want to go back now’. Conductor looking rather confused. Me: ‘ Humlog ghumne ke liye nikle hai!’. He looks at me and then at Isaac and grins knowingly. He looks at Isaac and says ‘Maaza aa raha hai’ I felt like saying ‘I am not sure if he is having fun --- but I am’.

Tuesday my mom took Isaac for a similar round

Wednesday was my turn. I got into the bus and told the conductor ‘Shanti Ashram’. After my first round in the bus, I had figured out what the last stop. The conductor looked at me and full of wisdom said ‘Ek kaam karo … next stop pe uthra jao … 284 bus pakado … jaldi pochonch jaoge’ … (Do one thing – get off at the next stop and take bus no 284. You will reach quickly)

I looked at him and said ‘ Mujhe jaldi nahin pochanchne ka hai – Mujhe ghoomne ka hai’ (I don’t want to reach fast. I am out roaming)!

Loved the expression on his face and caught a few of my fellow travelers looking at Isaac and giggling.