What Happens When You Ignore The First Mistake

It not only takes your right to question the second occurrence but also opens a cycle that is hard to break.


First things are always the first. How lame a sentence, isn’t it? But seriously; Good, bad or ugly, firsts set the precedent and it’s always important to make note of them.

When an error, a mistake, a crime, an event where norm or law is broken for the first time, it is important to stop and question it then and there. However small or insignificant it may seem at first, it needs to be called out for what it is. A mistake. You don’t ignore it because it doesn’t matter and not affect your flow of work. It might not affect you now but believe me it will come to haunt you tomorrow and then you will have nothing to do about it except to regret. That’s exactly what I did last week when I went home. 

I had marriage of a family member to attend to at one side of Goa, a small Indian state famous for its pristine beaches, old churches and Portuguese era architecture. Couples had long tied the knot, I had my lunch and it was time to head home which is at another part of Goa’s lush green boundary. I headed towards bus station to catch a bus and to my luck found one just about to accelerate and get going. Next thing on my mind was whether I will find any seat to sit which is hard to find in crowded buses across here. But thank god, I did. Just across the door. To my left was the pathway and to its left, the door (this is pretty important piece of information to which I will come shortly). It was at this moment I noticed something strange and the first occurrence of what was supposed to be a cycle of mistakes. 


Strike One

The last seat of a bus is a full seat from one end to the other and can help sit six people comfortably. Rest all are cut in between (so right has a seat that can sit two and left for three people; remaining one for walking) making way for a pathway in the middle for passengers to walk from front to back of a bus. 

Three plus two seats and a pathway in between. Representative Internet image. Goan buses are well kept than this.





This prized last seat that can accommodate six was occupied by bags (big rucksacks and what not) covering all the way more than half its portion. There was a group of people probably moving to new place piling their luggage on to those seats. It was huge load of bags on bags touching the ceiling of bus. Plus there were few bags along the pathway as well. Ticket collector or “conductor” as he is called in this side of the place was staring blankly at the sitting passengers speaking nothing. Probably he had word with them before I came in or probably he did not, I have no clue of things that occurred before my boarding. All I know is how he opened his bottle of certain milk based drink and drank it while looking blankly outside the glass window on door. I was the nearest passenger to the door and thereby to the conductor, so I waved a Rs. 100 note towards him for my ticket. He just gave sort of a smirk and moved along the pathway to the first seat just behind the driver (my seat was at back door), and began to collect fare from there. Bus moved along and in the meantime he reached to the middle of the bus where those people sat whose bags were occupying the last three seats. Conductor was asking fare for those three seats as well. They were giving money for only those many seats on which their people had sat and not for those occupied by bags. Conductor’s argument was, seats are charged and those bags are occupying three seats which otherwise would help sit three people who would handle him the required amount. He was at lose. You either pay for those seats or take your luggage out and tie them on top of bus to metal rods provided for the same purpose, he suggested. Sounds fair enough.
But it’s not that simple a math. If indeed seats are charged then shouldn’t those passengers who travel by standing throughout their journey because all seats are taken be charged none or little less than what is charged for a seat? But in all buses here, everyone, whether he is standing or sitting is charged equally. Unfair, isn’t it?

Coming back to the bus. The arguments went on and finally they settled after good twenty minutes into a scrumptious journey through the lush forests of Goa. A deal was struck. They would pay him 100 bucks extra. 100 bucks for three seats. I had myself paid 90 bucks for my seat. They were traveling long ahead of me, so obviously those seats collectively cost more than 300 bucks easily. The soft spoken conductor in my opinion was too tired of the arguments and agreed knowing nothing about what lay in future for him and for us, the passengers.


Strike Two

So far the bus wasn’t full, there were still few seats empty, one beside me as well. Maybe that was the thing with people. As far as they had their seats for themselves, they didn’t care for right or wrong. As long as they felt themselves safe, people cared less for the ills others faced or laws others broke. 

The bus reached Madgaon (or Margao) station. Of the many people who came up was a man with large sack of something. Conductor was out somewhere and came after few minutes only to start asking for the bag. The guy responded and thus began another altercation. This time though the bus was not in motion. Conductor was asking him to put his bag on top of the bus where there was space for such huge bags to tie them safe but the man was reluctant. His primary argument was, why just him with single bag when last three seats (of the six) were occupied with huge amounts of heavy luggage. Why not all? Then the other party too got itself involved and after sometime other passengers too started doing their rounds of talking as everyone was getting delayed due to their mess. I don’t really know how it got resolved and on what condition conductor agreed but bus finally started moving again with all the bags inside the bus itself. No one had any inkling of what was coming our way. The man with a single bag was at best just a teaser. Our silence and what-do-I-care attitude was about to make this journey memorable for all the bad reasons.


The Third And Final Strike

Bus stopped at Canacona (or Kankon) Station. It was already full at last stop, in fact one or two passengers were standing. First entered two girls, then a middle aged man and then an old lady with her luggage. The two girls upon finding no empty seats got down the bus (or was it the just entered lady? I would never know). The old lady first brought a basket covered on top with gunny cloth, then came a gunny bag, then a plastic one, then a large cloth bag and then another basket. There was strange funny smell everywhere as she climbed up with her things. She was fisher-woman. Yesterday’s market had been dull and she was returning to her place with unsold, wait for it, dry fishes! There were all varieties of fishes and all sort of crazy smells. Even for Goans who are not new to the smell of fish (dry or otherwise), the prospect of a journey with it is nightmare. There were big whispers this time from the crowd inside. Even the ‘first culprits’, people who brought luggage and occupied those last three seats had started talking (though they weren’t local and were speaking in language unknown to me). In between all this arrived the conductor. The luggage was so much that a bag had gone up to the entrance of cursed bus. Conductor if he wanted to come in (which he had to) was required to put his leg above the bag, skip a step and come in. Looking at the situation, the poor guy smiled. Maybe he had come to realize his mistake. The first occurrence of it which he had ignored. I for one certainly regretted not asking conductor in the beginning to direct the first culprits to have their luggage at its place on top of the bus. The smell was our punishment for ignoring what was wrong at first place. 
So the rounds of argument had started. This time conductor was asking her to get down and find another bus, not have her bags top of the bus like he did for others. Felt like the soft spoken conductor was taking advantage of old lady. But she wasn’t going down either. Seemed like she knew the trade very well. The line she kept repeating to conductor was, “I will pay you 50 bucks for them. Please let me be.” Conductors problem wasn’t exactly her but other passengers who were already giving him looks. Another lady sitting near the door was constantly complaining about the smell. She was also the one who at Madgaon station was talking with her friend about the bags at last three seats and how they were the reason why a lady standing beside her seat couldn’t have the comfort of a sit (but no, she didn’t convey this to conductor). This lady then somehow started it loud and conductor got hold of it. His anger and words at the old lady who by now understood who she should be directing her arguments at. Looking at the questioning lady, our fisher woman remarked, 
“What is your problem? Look at others.. (pointing at me as I was just beside one of her basket) Look at him.. He (emphasizing) doesn’t have any problem.. Why only you?”
“Don’t involve me into this. I have problem with the smell but only keeping quite because of those bags at back (on last three seats). If they weren’t there, I too would be complaining…” I shot back.
“I understand..” Well she didn’t. 
In between the people to whom those bags belonged were miffed at me. Two of their family members turned back and shouted, 
“We have paid for those seats!”
“No, you haven’t. You paid just 100 which is at most price of one seat. Don’t open my mouth…” 
I was cut short by another man who seemed to know conductor well and then somehow the bus started. And all this while we braved that smell. I can’t really explain how it felt. It was bad, really bad. I know the times when I felt like jumping out of the window. It was that bad. 



The crimes, the dons, the mischief makers don’t just sprout out from nowhere. They come from ourselves. They derive strength from ourselves. They all attempt the small mischief first. There is always that prized (or doomed) first. Anyone who is breaking law for the second time or erring again is doing so because he/she was ignored (and unintentionally got approval) at first. The first was the sign which we choose to ignore for whatever were our reasons — “it’s alright”, “not a big deal”, “doesn’t bother me” et cetera et cetera...

Small or big — Kill the urge in anyone to repeat any mistake. Speak out and save yourself from future mayhem. Good Bye!

Thanks for reading above story. Do share if you liked what you just read. It means a lot to me and helps other people to discover it :)



 

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