Ladies Seats

I grew up in a small town where public transport was almost non-existent. I drove my own scooter and then a car before I was old enough to get a driving license and my parents were ok with that. My mother had felt mauled and violated every day of travelling in a bus to college and this was there way of protecting me.

When I moved to a bigger city and decided to use the public transport, everyone who knew me had advise to share. Travel only in the ladies compartment. All busses have ladies seats in the front. Don’t go towards the back. Don’t get into busses which are too crowded. Never get into a bus which is nearly empty. Wear shoes with sharp heels. Carry an umbrella and poke it into anything that comes closer than three inches.  

Except for wearing pencil heels, I tried out most of the other tips. I would be weary after the long day of internship but still stay propped between sweaty women even if there was more breathing space at the back.  After some time, I started driving my scooty to work even if it meant driving 56km through Delhi traffic.

It took some time for me to try and use the bus after I moved to Bangalore. It had better buses, there were less dire warnings around and yet I stuck to the seats in the front, which far too less compared to the number of women who traveled. I saw an empty seat at the back and went for it. (I did have an umbrella). I realized that since the seat was two feet  higher the view was so much better too.

I am big advocate of public transport now. I have persuaded many to try the trains, metro, car-pools and the bus. I tell them to travel in more numbers. To claim what should be ours. To carry umbrellas or pepper sprays or whatever works for them. I just don’t tell anyone to stick to the ladies seats.

This post is in some ways contradictory to my previous one. While I was writing that I was questioning myself on why we have to do so much to stay safe when it is, they who should be living in fear. I guess that too was rooted in reality and so is this one.

There are times when we have to be extra vigilant and there are times when we need to be brave. There is a reality we cannot change in a day. We need to be prepared for it. But that doesn’t mean we give up trying to change it.