Nineteen-Nineteen to the dozen

Once upon a time, Ashok Leyland gifted CET with a beauty.. a highly fashionable, state-of-the-art, roaring bus, (which will be the subject of this post).. the "KRV 1919"!! Hear one, hear all! This bus runs through the winding lanes of Trivandrum everyday, transporting a hundred ( that's right..a hundred, mind u! choke! suffocate! die!) engineering aspirants to their alma-mater..

There are rumours that this bus i'm alluding to has even been given special mention in the "History of the Kingdom of erstwhile Travancore"!!! Initially i was made to believe that the registration number of the bus had something to do with its year of manufacture!

so, this bus is like this huge rectangular box, carelessly balanced on six wheels.. When the bus starts, it'll appear as though the wheels and the body have a difference of opinion and threaten to part ways!!.. but i assure u, it gets worse when it gets moving..

It seems that 'Ground Clearance' was given a lot of importance in those days..when u see the 1919 coming from a distance, it reminds u of the latest edition of Fashion-Week Paris.. the tyres are very showy, and if u pay attention, the wobbling from side to side and the mini-skirtish look of the body r enough to give u the memory of the best cat-walk ever!! The seats are rock solid, with metallic frames designed to suit the tastes of an engineering student.. when the bus passes over a little pot-hole, u can feel ur ribs rattle, reminding u that u r still alive..worse, when its time to screech to a halt and the brakes are applied(?), u feel as if forty-three amateur violinists were rehearsing poor Beethoven's Last symphony right beside u!!

Oh, and that's not all..there is the return trip home, which starts with half a dozen hefty boys pushing the bum of the old beauty whilst the driver tries, cries and practically dies to get the engine kicking into a roar...and what a blessing it is to be chosen as one among those half a dozen of boys!! i envy them..i envy them all!! grrr..
Also, the 1919 has a distinct style of acceleration..its show of power..well, in the process, an unfathomably huge cloud of black smoke drifts out of the exhaust..that for the vehicles behind the bus, it'll look as though the power cut had come 3 hours early..and all calls to mobile phones within the region would be thwarted with an 'out-of-coverage' response!!

All in all, it's worth a bumpy ride!! I do make it a point not to miss the bus the moment i know its gonna be KRV 1919..the unpredictability, the team spirit, the emotion..priceless!!
Ashok Leyland, we owe u a lifetime full of rib-rattling pleasure!!