Life, Buses, Bengaluru...

Long time back, I read an interview given by a noted scriptwriter for Malayalam movies. According to him, he takes great pain to know life first hand. In order to achieve this objective, he would use the public transport. Judging by the scripts written by him, the public transport rides were not helping him at all as he and his scripts were detached from the real life.

As I write this, I am on a BMTC bus to MG Road, Bengaluru. This is my third ride on a bus while being on vacation. I am yet to see life unfolding. But most of the travelers are on their cellphones like me. They are not blogging. They are either texting or talking on their cellphones. The cellphone usage is something to be noted.

Everyone has a unique fancy ringtone. When the phone rings, it is very loud too. The ringtone provides additional background score; in addition to incessant honking, unique sound of the Tuk-Tuk engine and also the various conversation happening inside the bus. With all this cacophony, it is difficult to hear the caller on the other side. An ingenious way devised by a fellow traveller was to put the call on speaker-phone and press the phone against his ears.

All said and done, Bengaluru has excellent connectivity if you are using the bus services by BMTC. For me, the most difficult part is to find the right bus for my intended destination. Anyone knows how to figure this out?



Comments

  1. http://www.bmtcinfo.com/site/BSBusServicesRouteDetails.jsp?bsserviceid=2

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    1. Thank you. I wish there was an interactive version where I can put in my origin and destination instead of meticulously searching the entire page. ;)

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  2. Ans .... ask the driver or conductor .... "bus hogidhya?" & if the ans is no, " illindu eshtu numberu busu?"

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    1. :) Thank you. I actually tried a variant with a conductor. I asked "MG Road...bus number" followed by a hand action indicating which one. He promptly replied "G3". I was at Madiwala at that time. :)

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  3. LOL.. U gotta learn some basic Kannada to survive Blore for dat matter! ;-)

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you. But only here for a short while.

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  5. There are wonderful mobile apps..

    https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bmtc&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5ibXRjIl0.

    for Android is extremely useful..
    You might need it even if you know Kannada

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    1. Thank you. Any similar app for iphone? This is much needed!

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  6. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bmtc&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5ibXRjIl0.

    Here's a link to an android app..

    I have to say it's better than anything else. You might need it even if you know Kannada (I'm a kannadiga and I use it almost all the time)

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  7. Strike a conversation with strangers you meet. Ask them about the route and other alternate ways to reach there... That way you can reach your place and also observe unfolding of lives if you are lucky.

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    1. :) I don't strike a conversation with strangers. But I do ask strangers for the bus numbers. The second option is the conductor of the oncoming bus.

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  8. I felt like I was standing in my favorite line for bus 278[that I traveled last in 2000] in Majestic bus stop!. BTB the majestic bus stop has full fledged list of bus with routes . Did you check. I used to carry that when I started working there by staying alone. Enjoyed this post so much.And yes I dint have a cellphone with me then:-) thanks.

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    1. Others have told me about the Majestic Bus stop. I think there should be a small map published on every stop for the traveller to decide the best route.

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  9. Q: "bus hogidhya?"
    Ans: "Hogumarikkum"
    You don't need kannada in Blore.

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    1. I have heard this story and I know your identity. :p

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  10. LOL! Mobiles are just everywhere.Without it, is like without oxygen for us beings.:D

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    1. Yeah, it is becoming oxygen for all of us.

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  11. Bangalore buses are the assets of the city and you can never face a problem here for not knowing the local language, most of the conductors are fluent in english and hindi

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    1. I agree with your statement about Bengaluru buses being the asset of the city. :)

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  12. Hmm I've had this prob too, but kannada is a little like telugu so I never found it hard to understand..and some simple basic kannada words can get us the directions...so what did you find out after traveling via public transit :)

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    1. If you know Telugu, then you can read Kannada because the scripts are the same. :)

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    2. not really Nona :) you can make out some but none so clear...and also you're not considering the fact that all Telugu people might not be able read telugu :))

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  13. Bengaluru has excellent bus transport network system. I used to travel from yelahanka to vijaynagar for one month and the buses were very frequent. This site helped me a lot to get on proper buses. http://narasimhadatta.info/bmtc_query.html
    It also helps to ask the conductor twice before getting on the bus (but if the conductor is in a bad mood, he'll dish out sarcasm but most of them are helpful and they even give a detailed account of bus routes and bus numbers near your area)
    And I agree with Pranita, Basic Kannada is necessary but Hindi helps too :)

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    1. Thank you. The site is wonderful. I am not sure if it is updated. But it looks great.

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  14. its better in india than abroad- atleast there is some noise unlike drones bent over smart phones in seilence

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    1. The noise is from the loud conversation on the phone mostly. :)

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  15. It is becoming the worldwide phenomenon now!

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  16. You’re exactly right.Bus journeys in Bangalore are always interesting. About 4 months ago, I was one of those passengers, shuttling in between the monotony and dreamy aspect of life, as I was a student there.I enjoyed those buses where lots of villagers would be, speaking in rustic kannada, and sometimes incomprehensible dialects of Hindi with all of their charms, goods and innocence….Every journey would introduce you different aspects of life… like hoards of suave, young, classy, elegant representatives of India, rubbing their shoulders with their counterparts, the illiterate, the sole breadwinners of their families, the people who migrated so magically from places which are so obscure….i found everything so interesting there…If you visit ShivajiNagar Busustand, you can see a huge chunk of Kannada passengers,which made me observe their peculiarities, their habits etc etc….nice article…it made me to think a lot…thank you…

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    1. This is an old post. Thanks for visiting. I am happy when somebody comments on an old post. By the way, I am enabled comment moderation on my blog. So don't be surprised if the comment doesn't show up immediately.

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