Fiction: A peek into the minds of commuters from Nalanda Housing Society held at gunpoint in a bus

The minibus was once advertised as a Luxury Video A/C Coach. Time has stripped it of adjectives. It is now merely a battered bus with On Time Travels blazoned on one side. The other side has a logo. Our travellers take great pride in this logo. It is frequently pointed out to lower forms of Nalandan life as an example of what intelligent compromise can achieve.

Not so very long ago, On Time Travels was the subject of acrimonious dispute. There was a rumour that the name had been misspelt. It was really Om Time Travels. The bus was due for a facelift, and some of the commuters wanted the name spelt right this time. Others disagreed. They said it quarrelled with the secular spirit of the times. The driver, Makhanlal, generally addressed as Maska, refused to referee. The owners, he said, were illiterate. The bus had been leased to Nalanda, and Nalandans must decide.

For a whole month, the warring factions glared across the aisle. Finally, Nitin Pai, artist-in-residence, broke the deadlock with a logo. This was the Om symbol with the crescent replaced by a tiny clock. Everybody felt this was neat. Nitin was congratulated. He passed on the laurels...

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