Wednesday, July 05, 2006

TCS, Kerala & Probability

Last six months have been a very different experience for me in terms of commuting to work. I started taking the ITPL buses to escape pollution, dust, mud & waiting-in-traffic which is a real pain when riding a bike. The very first day I was impressed by the number of girls in the bus. So I decided to pack my bike up in the home to be taken in the evening and in weekends only. At first I didn't have the guts to sit next to a girl and talk. But soon Whatever-may-come-lets-do-it kinda attitude creeped into me.

First was in airport road. It was a saturday morning and I was asked to come and work on saturday too. I was not sure of ITPL bus plying near my home on a weekend. So walked a kilometre and started looking for the bus stop. I saw a girl standing with a TCS tag around her neck, thatz more than enough for me to know that I am in the right place for the bus. Still I asked her if it is the ITPL bus stop and from then I bored her for 45 min sitting next to her in the low wall in the bus stop. I bored her even more in the bus for another 45 min. She must be happy that her usual week day timings are different and hence I may not disturb her again. That was the first and last time I saw her. She is a mallu working in TCS.

Second time it was in the evening ITPL shuttle on the way back home. I found a very cute girl sitting all alone in the back seat of the shuttle in the 3 seater side on the window. I casually went and sat in the aisle seat knowing that someone will come and ask me to move a little so that he/she can sit. In normal circumstances, I will ask the person to sit in the middle and I stick to the aisle. But this time as to my expectation one guy came and asked me to move a little. And without thinking I moved close to that cute girl. No sooner did I sit next to her than my mouth blurted out the words "Is it the first time for you in this bus" (Little does she know that I've eyed all the girls frequent that bus). She responded meekly that it is her third time in that bus and she is in ITPL for the past one month only. The conversation started good and I was taking it through even better. I found out that she too is from TCS and her native Kerala. But when I said I am from chennai she started talking in her sweet mallu-mixed-tamil. That was the time I felt what Vivek did in that movie was indeed out of impulsion more than for comedy. I kept the conversation as lively as possible that she asked me if I have my card. I gave her my card and she wrote her email id in a piece of paper even without me asking her for it. She mentioned that she prefers to take this 7 o'clock shuttle to 6.15 BMTC bus since it hardly makes any difference in the time she reaches home and more over Shuttles have comfortable seats. Time flew like anything and she has to get down. I said good night and lets catch up tomorrow. She said inquisitively "tomorrow?!" and got down. That was the last time I saw her. I still look for her in that 7 o'clock shuttle in vain. I followed Mathi referenced Hitch's technique of contacting after 2 days, through email. But no replies for the 3 emails I sent. She is another mallu working in TCS.

Third one.. While I came down to ground floor from my flat in 4th floor I saw one girl climbing down the stairs. I didnt take much notice and walked to the bus stop. That was the first day to work after I lost my wallet and my bus pass with it. I didnt take the BMTC bus to ITPL since they charge a lot compared to the shuttle which comes a little later. She came and asked me if the bus has left already. I said the bus is yet to come. Seeing no crowd in the stop she asked if 4c has left or not. I said 4c is left but the shuttle is yet to come. She started cursing herself for missing 4c bus. I asked her why she need to have so much tension since the shuttle will be coming in minutes and it will take a different route and reach office almost the same time as 4c does. But she felt that 4c is fast. I didn't get the chance to sit next to her to bore her guts out. She sat with some other lady in the front and as I was a permanent back-bencher right from my KGs, I went back and sat. From then on just occasional hi's and bye's with her. Once she told me that she is working for TCS and she is a mallu. My room-mates are conspiring against me to move our home to some other place on the sole reason of sabotaging my effort in picking this third floor girl. Hardly they know that there is nothing happening between us apart from my side initiated hi's and bye's.

Today I met another girl in the same bus stop in the same situation. We both missed the BMTC 4c bus and were waiting for the shuttle to come. This time its me who initiated the conversation (Its always me who do that but still to add an effect I said this :P). I sat next to her in the bus and as usual bored her till the bus came to ITPL. I have seen her even before in the bus stop. So I am just hoping that she too won't abscond like that second girl. She, too, is a TCS employee from Kerala.

Whatz with this TCS & Kerala & the girls I meet up. I am so so so confident that the probability, of the next girl I am gonna meet in the bus is going to be a TCS mallu girl, is ONE.