The recklessness of the bus driver

The bus was running almost at the speed of 50 kms/hr. On my bike it’s a great speed, but on the bus I felt very comfortable. Moreover, there was no crowd inside the bus as usual.

When the bus reached beyond Tarahara chowk, the driver seemed relaxed. He took out a mineral water bottle from a box and washed his both hands. He looked as if he had forgotten he was driving because he had released both his hands from the steering wheel. He was doing it as the bus was running and taking turns in the Panipiya locality, the most dangerous place notoriously known for accidents and killings.

The escalating heat of the summer day could be felt inside. Pabitra was hanging her head down in her drowsiness. She was unaware of all these things happening around, but I was in a great discomfort. I was watching the driver’s mischief.

After he had wiped off his hands with a rag, the driver took out a tobacco packet and started preparing it for putting inside his mouth. He took almost five minutes to finish this act. Meanwhile, he was supporting the steering wheel time to time to take the turns and to avoid the collision with other vehicles. Otherwise his hands would be off the steering wheel.

At the taps in front of the water reservoirs at Panipiya, there were some bus workers washing buses and their hardly covered bodies. Our driver bade them hilariously as they replied in the same spirit with gestures.

I was very much worried about the safety of the bus passengers until we reached Bargachhi chowk, Dharan, where we got off the bus.