A Sonnet of Heresy

Being LADIES in Guwahati!

If you have been to guwahati and been a user of the famed public transport then ‘ladies’ is one word you must have heard often. Every bus handyman worth his salt knows at least one English word – ‘ladies’. Reason: They shout out ‘ladies’ so that the driver knows that he cannot just foot the accelerator because there is a delicate person alighting or getting off the bus. For so long I assumed that they did associate ‘ladies’ with the fairer sex. Not any more.

My recent visit to Guwahati shattered one of the best kept secrets of all these handymen. Well at least this particular guy in whose bus I was traveling!

At a certain bus stop which usually sees lesser rush gentleman was trying to get down from the bus along with his toddler son. Ignorant about the kid and the complication the driver stepped on the accelerator. The ever so helpful handyman came to rescue right away. “Ladies ladies” he screams at the top of his voice as he banged the bus with his hand thereby conveying to the driver that he needed to halt. I looked towards the door hoping to check if it was a beautiful girl who was the ‘ladies’ getting off the bus. All I saw was the man and the kid. I kept waiting only to realize the man and the kid were the ‘ladies’ after all. LADIES!

There I sat wondering what ladies meant after all. What a word meant or conveyed and how it was comprehended. Ladies for the learned was definitely the fairer sex. That particular handyman however had his own connotations. I am not sure if the same gyaan his shared by rest of his fellow colleagues but it does end up bring quite a few questions in my mind – apart from the words and meanings.

Imagine how many times us guys might have been the ‘ladies’ when we were younger. Shudder? Or is this what they call being in touch with your feminine side? Being ladies surely has it own meanings… in good old Guwahati at least!