Stuff I Learnt Today: Luxury

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Luck-jury

Recently I had the opportunity of traveling in a so called “Luxury” bus which was introduced during the Asian games a few years back. Now travelling in a state transport bus is not exactly was you would call “Luxurious” coz the journey is anything but that! But considering the red colored “Normal” buses that usually ply on majority of the routes, this one is definitely better! It has 2 x 2 seats and better cushions. And that’s all what differentiates luxury from normalcy.

I kept thinking about this during the whole journey and I concluded that "Luxury" is a very realtive term. On one hand there is this shabby bus that we call Luxurious and on the other there are people roaming in tailor made Rolls Royce with push-button amenities that would make even private jets blush.

For example a simple TV is a necessity for some people who can't even dream of spending a day without gossipping about Roadies, a comfort for people who barely get time to watch news and a luxury for people who haven't seen electricty light up their house in the past.

Luxury is...

... Getting a place to sit in the damn bus when you've been standing all life trying to feel the presence of your limbs.
... Watching a Cricket match without the ads ruining the replays and first ball of each over.
... Getting a clear reception of all FM Channels when you've become used to the static and you hear it even after turning off the radio!
... Riding down a calm, pothole free road when you've spent all life counting the bones in your body rattling.
... Getting a breath of fresh air when the acidic smoke at signals corrodes your nostrils
... Making a 10 minute call without any disconnections and network errors.
... Getting the second roti served in restaurants before the first one ends.
... Not having to wait in lines for ANYTHING.
... Getting all signals green when you have to reach home early (and otherwise)!
... Getting all work done without having to bribe everyone from the chapraasi to the Saab.
... Waking up on a Sunday morning to Coffee and Sunday Times.
... Breathing freely and not getting crushed while struggling to get Ganesh Darshan at Lalbaug.
... Simply having access to broadband when you've spend half your life hearing the clash/bang/trrrrrring of dial up.
... Actually getting the download speeds that the ISP boasts.
... Knowing that your friends care for you even though you don't have time to stay in touch.
... Realising that the beautiful chick you're talking to is smart too.
... Not having stupid telemarketers call you when you really need to sleep
... Not losing your unsaved work when the computer reboots due to power failure.
... Not being stuck behind a snail-speed bus which feeds you generous amounts of dust on the single lane road to office.
... Just for once having all the staff of SBI smiling at you and seeming obliged to help you.
... Knowing that the water temperature is just right when you enter the swimming pool.