The Volvo Experience

I’ve been traveling between Chennai and Bangalore regularly since last year. But its always been in train, sometimes sleeper class, sometimes chair car and on the rare occasion even general class. But this time is different. I’m traveling by bus and it’s a Volvo. I should admit though that by the time I went to book a ticket, this was the only bus available. If some lesser class had been available I may have opted for that even though Mom wanted me to travel by Volvo.
Anyway, here I am at the CMBT, Chennai looking eagerly for my bus. Reminds me of the horrible time I had at the Majestic in August when I was to leave for Tirupati. But the crowd here is not a quarter of what it is in Majestic and thankfully Chennai is not Bangalore. After some guidance from a friendly conductor I locate my bus parked at the end of the platform. The conductor is busy helping passengers with their luggage. One over-eager guy keeps pestering him about something till he finally gives him a stare to get rid of him. I get the ticket checked and board the bus. Not many have arrived yet. Obviously not everyone is as cautious as me.
The bus starts moving and the over-eager passenger takes the seat next to me. Not a very good start, I say to myself. I just hope he doesn’t talk too much. I hate conversations with strangers while traveling. Just give me a window seat and I can keep shut for days on end. The seat is nice and comfortable and I expect it to be pushback. Yes, it is pushback. My neighbor pushes his seat back and makes himself comfortable. I now start looking for the lever on my seat. I find a button with ‘PUSH’ written on it and push it. Nothing moves. Attempt 2: Push hard. Result: Nothing. Attempt 3: Push harder. Result: Ditto. Nothing moves. This is embarrassing. I know it can be pushed back, everyone is relaxing, I’ve paid almost 400 bucks for this, I know the lever that should do it, but its just not happening. So what do I do? Simple, I ask my neighbor. A little reluctantly, he says I’m supposed to push the lever. Wow, what a help that was !!! I’ve seen the lever and I’ve read the ‘PUSH’ written on it. What did he think I was doing all along ? Playing with the lever ?? But no point saying this to him. So I try again, fail again and look sheepishly at him. He doesn’t seem to be interested in giving any more ‘tips’ and goes back to his MP3 player. I wanted him not to utter a word when he sat next to me but when I asked for help, I wanted him to leave everything and only solve my problem. Expecting too much? NO WAY !!!
Anyway, I have resigned myself to traveling till Bangalore and watching the movie being played without being able to recline in my seat. The movie playing is Vivah. I read a Suraj Barjatya interview in the morning and the movie’s a hit. So I am looking forward to it. The movie starts as all Barjatya movies do, depicting the happy families of the hero and the heroine. Initially I like the movie and the characters. Everyone’s so nice and goody-goody type. Amrita Rao looks good in her traditional clothes and her more than traditional Hindi. Nice change from the females in Dhoom, Don et al. But after a while the sweetness of the movie gets kind of boring. Final verdict: not a bad movie but I wouldn’t want to spend 100 bucks to watch it in a theatre.
Meanwhile, the bus stops for refreshment and I finally get the chance to wrestle with my seat in ‘peace’. I catch hold of the lever, push it and miraculously, the seat reclines. Maybe, it realized I was not going to give up without a fight and so gave in. Smart of it not to mess with me.
So now I’m sitting in an air-conditioned bus with a pushback seat, munching on snacks and watching a movie. Life is good!
By the way, there’s a girl in the bus who’s been struggling with her seat for an hour now, even though her neighbor is a lot more helpful than mine.
After a little more than 6 hours, 2 1/2 movies and a largely pleasant journey, thanks to Volvo and Vajpayee( for the amazing highways), I’m back in Bangalore. Considering that a Volvo ride from Chennai to Tirupati may cost around 1000 bucks, at Rs. 390 this one has been a steal.
(The poor girl couldn’t adjust her seat till the end of the journey. How dumb !!!)