The ticket taker

(excerpt from a particularly lengthy journal entry about a crazy bus ride)

14 September 2007
"...On my right, left and back I was pressed against by many bodies...It was a feat to move my arm enough to gain access to my camera case with my 5 rupee bus fare to give it to the ticket taker. He was an impressive gent. His capacity to press through the sea of squichjed bodies was miraculous, and when it became impossible to work his way through the throng, he switched off sides of the bus, standing on the bottom step, collecting fares from newcomers who were somewhere on those first few steps. I had a good view of him in action when he was on the female side of the bus. Some observations: he carried a money pouch (brown leather), a whistely, tickets of different colors for different amounts, and a long, white, piece of paper and pen (which he kept in the pouch when not being used). He also kept some bills folded long way between his fingers and a few coins in the palm of his hands, used as change when collecting fares. But the coins eventually ended up in the pouch. The paper, I observed, was updated regularly. It was sort of a spreadsheet. On it he updated numbers. For each ticket (which had a price #--100, 200, 300, 400, 500, etc...the ride from Chavadi to Coimbatore cost 5 rupees and earns me a blue 500 ticket; a ride from the train station to the silk district costs two and merits a 200) there is anumber on top which is distinct. It is that number, or rather, the last three digits of it, that is recorded on the white sheet. And it reveals how many people have purchased tickets of each amount based on the change in that number. I was impressed by his balance too. On that bottom step he stood next to the open doorway. He had his feet planted and leaned against the doorway but didn't hold on to anything, except for big turns, then he casually grabbed the top of the door frame with one hand. His uniform was brown. He's cool..."