The taming of the shoes

You could say it was the midnight run. The bus, one of those modern air-conditioned Volvos, took off at 11 o’clock from Calicut and was on its way to Bangalore. Within the hour, most passengers were comfortable in their seats, and asleep. Some were even heard snoring in subdued tones.

Soon, the bus began its laborious climb up the ghats at Waynad and the hairpin bends had the entire bus – passengers, luggage and all – swinging in their seats and in their racks in slow motion. As if we were all moving in tune with one of those ‘We are the world, we are the children’ sort of songs.

The bus swung this way and that. We all swung that way and this. Except for the discomfort of keeping our balance, I’d say it was a rather moving experience.

On one occasion, as I planted my feet on the ground, I was surprised to find the cold floor, and not my pumps which I had worn for the trip, but had taken off to get comfortable when the journey began. I looked down and saw nothing. A silent panic hit me. These were my favourite Gaitondes, export quality moccasins, picked up several years ago at a heavy price. And now, they were missing.

I sat up, bent down and twisted myself to look for them in the dark. I found them languishing in the aisle, among a dozen other shoes belonging to several passengers traveling with me. Oh, okay. I understood. The swinging of the bus had dislodged the shoes from their proper places at the feet of their owners. And, since my seat was right up-front, I noticed an assortment of them quietly gathering there.

I picked up my Gaitondes from the assortment and placed them beneath my seat. However, I couldn’t sleep. Every fifteen minutes or so, I couldn’t resist an inspection. I looked down and, sure enough, I found the shoes had moved again, falling into the aisle. By this time, the conductor of the bus had discovered several shoes scattered near the driver, and he started pitching them in, back into the aisle.

After several inspections, I was determined to find a solution to this problem. I just had to tame the shoes and not lose them to the mood-swings of the bus. God forbid if I lost them altogether and had to walk around Bangalore in bare feet! No, a solution had to be found.

First, I placed the shoes parallel to my feet in the direction the bus was moving. No, a failed attempt. Next, I kept them perpendicular to the direction of the bus. They stayed in that position longer but, alas, the right shoe betrayed its loyalty and fell back in the aisle with the others. Finally, I found a way to wedge them into a corner, one shoe parallel to the bus and the other, perpendicular. This seemed to work and, several inspections later, I was pleased.

My strategy of taming the shoes was a success. It had kept me awake for two hours, but what the hell, I tamed them in the end, right? Soon, I was asleep with a satisfied smile on my face.