BOMBAY BUSES

                                                            LXIX (69)

B.E.S.T. - the company that runs the buses of Bombay

BEST drivers and conductors
Work together as a team,
Considering the daily hassles they face,
One cannot help but hold them in esteem.

Do the drivers go to a special school
To perfect their jerky, jolting drive,
To learn how to let the clutch in
So that passengers and engine just survive?

Are they taught how to hit the brakes,
And as our balance we regain,
To take the foot off abruptly
So that we all fall over once again?

Jabbing the accelerator constantly
Helps to keep us on our toes,
Hones the perfect sense of balance
That every  bussing Bombay-ite shows.

Their steering skills however are superb
Avoiding people, cycles, cows and cars.
In wide and busy main streets
And narrow, twisting back-street bazaars.

Conductors need a different set of skills,
They must be slim, with all-seeing eyes
To extract fares from pinioned passengers,
Very few dodge payment I|'d surmise.

It must take years of experience
To know just when to ring the bell
Before everyone has got on -
It's an art at which they all excel.

The sunniest of natures will be soured
If nothing but brickbats come their way
And they never ever receive
A small - and occasional bouquet.

This verse is not a criticism
Of the B.E.S.T. fraternity.
Without their many specialist skills
How much duller life in Bombay would be.

3rd November 1955