Me... Going Green.

Commuting is a word I learnt in my early, formative years. In the 1st standard, suppose. Damn Convent Schools!! There was a story where a big, fat Mrs. Sharma used to commute to her office daily. She was a major cause of tyre punctures in the city. So much that they had to finally hire a bullock cart with wooden wheels for her. This word has caused troubles then and is causing trouble now.

The deal is, I have to commute some 14 kms to my office daily. I am no eco-conservationist, in the strict sense of word, but I hate when I see people travelling to the office solo in those huge fuel guzzling monsters. Now, my Rampyari is no monster, but my God, does she guzzles fuel! I spent two litres of petrol every day just to reach office and go back home.

Everyday I reached home, I felt guilty of wasting precious fuel, and robbing off the future generations. Simply because I can afford it, doesn't mean I should do it. So I decided to do something about it.

Travelling in company buses was impossible as I hate being bound to routines. What's the fun in standing in the bus queue 7 o'clock in the morning?

Car-pooling was also out of the question as I can't see myself being tied down to someone else's whims and fancies.

Push-biking (riding a bicycle, for the uninitiated) was not even in the option list. I didn't want to be a part of the Hosur road forever. Maybe when the mandarins at BMC decide to provide us with dedicated cycle lanes. But definitely not now.

So I decided on the next best thing.... Public Transport. BMTC has started a new service called BIG 10, which runs from the CBD on the 10 arterial routes of the city. The one which I am interested is in the G-2 route. It starts from MG Road and ends bang in front of Wipro's office in EC. And the best part is it passes very near to my home. I said to myself "Dude.. It looks like it has been run just for you. Go board it."

The course of action decided, it was now only a matter of 2 Km walk to the bus stop. Poor me.

Biwi took pity on me and offered to drop me to the bus stop everyday. Offered gladly accepted. For a few weeks, the arrangement worked awesomely. She used to get up at 6, cook breakfast for me, cook and pack lunch for me, wake me up at 8, drop me to the bus stop at 8:45, come again to pick me up at 7 in the evening from the bus stop. Basically she took all the pain, and I gloated with the new found pride of helping save the planet.

But now no more. Though she smiles every time I ask her if its trouble for her, but I knew she has to put up with loads of my idiosyncrasies already. I have decided now I will drive, to the nearest point to the bus stop where I can find a parking.

Today was the first day of this exercise. Though I had to wait some 20 mins to get a bus and stand all the way on the foot stand to the office, I loved it all.

Now I have an answer to my kids' questions when they will ask, "Dad! What did you do to save the planet for us?".