worked in Mumbai and traveled back home to Pune every Friday after work in 2006. I always took the bus operated by Neeta Volvo. One Friday, the bus reached our pickup spot 3 hours late and the place was literally beside a busy road and no place to sit or relax. I had an elderly couple as co passengers who were visibly very tired by the time bus arrived. As we started boarding the bus the elderly gentleman asked the driver about the delay. Reply was very harsh and some bad words with an evil grin. The man and his wife felt humiliated but with no choice, took their seats and we started our journey.

Everybody felt bad for the elderly gentleman. 1 hour later we hit the express way and the bus was cruising with some sharp lane changes paying no heed to small cars. Now the bus driver blatantly cut another small car so that the car driver has to apply brakes in order to save his car from a possibly sideswiping bus. Apparently for a moment or two both the drivers locked eyes on each other in the bus’s rear view mirror and the bus driver had the same old grin on his face. I was right behind him in the bus and saw this firsthand. What followed next was sheer pleasure to watch. The small car sped up, passed our bus and drive very close ahead and started to decelerate forcing the bus to stop. A bigger asshole jumped out asked the bus driver to open the door. The cocky bus-driver opened and faced the wrath. He got a slap of a lifetime across his face with a threat to dare do that again of course in a language well suited to make him understand.

Elderly couple were the first one to clap and the rest of the passengers joined them. Can’t forget that ride. Most entertaining Mumbai Pune journey ever….