Life Through a Tempo

It’s 7:15 P.M. of Friday the 9th of September 2005. Dashain is round the corner and you can already smell the fragrance of Dashain in the air. I am in Jawlakhel Stop waiting for the tempo to Naya Baneshwore to come. After 10 minutes wait, probably the last tempo to Naya Baneshwore comes. Since the summer is fading away, the length of the day has shortened and with that the public transport timing has changed too. May be a month back, the last tempo to Naya Baneshwore would have come 8 or 8:15pm. But now due to short day, the timing’s changed.

I boarded the last tempo to Naya Baneshwore. There were few guys inside the tempo and I took my favorite spot i.e., one at the side of the entrance. Slowly the tempo started picking its momentum. To see the night life outside of a tempo is a very interesting thing. Lot of people moving around, some strolling, some on the bikes while some inside public vehicles and some driving their cars and jeeps. Glancing this from inside of tempo has become my regular habit. Once inside the tempo, I get a chance to analyze the world as it moves. Lucky me.
Many of the people might be returning home from office at that time of the day and some might be heading to the relatives while some going for evening shopping. Gamut of reasons and gamut of people heading to their respective destinations. Just then my mind caught site of a man in Pulsar. There was a lady at the back of his bike holding tight the “definitely male” figure in front. I guessed this was a couple heading for some night party or to relatives. The bond between them was readily visible to anyone seeing them. At the same time, there was another bike with a man riding and the girl at the back. Although the distance between them was not very wide, I found them world apart. They were not just close for me to be called a well bonded couple.
Just as my mind was flying high with those thoughts, the tempo stopped at Kupondol. A sister and her brother were trying to board the tempo. The sister got inside the tempo but her brother, who was with her, missed the seat only because the other guy pushed him and got ahead of him in the tempo. And the man who was supposed to be seated was now standing in the tempo. Then I remembered the “The law of Jungle” of Economics taught by Mr. Kiran sir. That is the loophole in Laissez Faire world but here I am in the world with tax using Keynesian economic theories and still I see the dog eat dog attitude. I smiled, looked at the hoarding board on top of the building and said
“That’s the life and the show must go on anyhow.”
The tempo finally stopped at Naya Baneshwore and paying Rs8 I moved toward my home bidding goodbye to the tempo stop and promising to be back tomorrow for the same chore. Has my life become mundane, I don’t know……………………..