Mumbai's signature red coloured "Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport Undertaking" buses or simply BEST Buses are driven by a unique bunch of people, with an interesting driving style. Usually, they are criticised by most Mumbaikars for being rash, rude, mannerless and so on, I beg to differ. I am a regular BEST commuter (and also a driving licence holder for that matter) and I spend about an hour (if not more) everyday travelling in the ubiquitous red buses.
A typical BEST driver is usually a hardcore Maharashtrian (Marathi Manoos) , short-tempered, communicates in semi-urban Marathi lingo (or in Bambaiya Hindi), loves to shift gears with a loud thump, accelerates his bus madly as if there is no tomorrow, has cornering skills that would put even the best of F1 drivers to shame and doesn't mind hurling abuses at fellow road users. However, there is something really striking about these gentlemen (?) which inspires me a lot.
Let's face it, these fellows are probably doing one of the toughest jobs in the country. Driving in Mumbai's narrow lanes (patli galis to be precise) is no small achievement. Plus, there are irritants like jaywalkers, rash bikers and mindless passengers who get in and out of moving buses without any indication whatsoever. Not to mention, lack of dedicated bus lanes, pathetic road conditions, lack of any physical or creature comforts in buses apart from a power steering and an electric fan in some buses. And should I talk about the rioters on the streets and the water-logged roads during the monsoons too? Plus, no fixed working hours and a salary which isn't proportionate to the amount of hard work they put in.
Inspite of all these hardships, BEST continues to have an almost blemishless accident record. Just ask some Delhiites if you didn't understand the previous sentence. I can understand the plight of these Mumbai heroes in khakis. I salute them. To be honest, I owe a huge chunk of my driving skills (or the lack of it) to these gentlemen. BEST drivers are simply the BEST!
Signing off.
P.S. - For those interested to know more about BEST, click here for its official website.
1 comment:
Hey thats so true! ...and the other posts i tried reading but could barely understand because of my lack of interest in CARS in general.
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