A few days back my classmate invited me to Faridabad which is quite far from New Delhi where I live.
I was to stay with him for the weekend. My parents agreed to send me and in fact they felt that it might be a good idea to let me go alone so that I can learn to find my way independently.
So I set out to go to the bus stop. As I reached it I saw many long lines of people waiting for their bus to arrive I asked the man at the enquiry counter to guide me towards the line that would take me to Faridabad.
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The plump man sitting at the counter pointed to the right and I thanked him before moving towards the line.
I joined the line that the man had pointed towards. Soon a bus came and all the Passengers got on. I found a good seat next to the window and felt very happy with myself for having found my way to the bus and felt that finally I was on my way to Faridabad.
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After half an hour a conductor came to me and asked me for money. He said “Where do you want to go boy, I replied very confidently – “Faridabad”.
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The conductor and my fellow passengers looked at me in wonder. They informed me that the bus was going to Gaziabad and not Faridabad. I felt the worst imaginable fear as I heard that I had boarded the wrong bus. I realized that the man at the counter had misunderstood Faridabad for Gaziabad as both the names sound similar.
My fellow passengers were helpful. The conductor too guided me and told me to get off at the next big bus stop and buy a ticket for Faridabad from there. I waited impatiently for the next stop. As it arrived, I got off and bought a ticket for Faridabad. The bus came and this time I asked at least five people where the bus was headed before I finally boarded the bus.
This was the worst experience I had with buses. I heaved a sigh of relief as I reached my friend’s house but I was too embarrassed to admit that I had been the victim of such a big mistake.