The car suddenly breaking to a halt startled me. The fully air conditioned vehicle never had given any trouble before. But now it was standing still in the middle of the street. I asked, "What happened Abdul uncle?"
My driver Abdul looked at me and said, "Something is wrong Aditi beti (daughter). Let me see."
He went out and checked the engine of the car. I was getting a bit worried since it was the first day of my coaching classes. I was preparing for an MBA entrance after my graduation and didn't want to be late for my first coaching class. I got down from the vehicle and enquired, "How long would it take Abdul uncle?"
Abdul replied, "It's actually very bad and will need a mechanic. Should I call the other vehicle from back home?"
I said, "But that will take a lot of time, I don't want to be so late uncle."
As soon as the car stopped the AC had stopped working. I could feel the summer heat. After I had stepped out of the car the heat of the afternoon sun had made me quite uncomfortable. I had always had the privilege of air conditioning in my house, classrooms and wherever I went. Being the daughter of a rich businessman and construction magnate Mr R. Bhargav had its advantages. So, being subjected to even a slight amount of heat was a rare occasion for me.
Abdul was worried since he couldn't let me ride in any taxi or public transport all by myself, and also he couldn't just leave such an expensive vehicle all by itself. Suddenly his face beamed as something caught his attention.
"Aditi beti, problem solved. There comes your company's bus, it's carrying the female workers of the construction site back home. You may ride it safely and reach your classes in time. Their basti (slum) is not very far from your coaching institute in the city." He remarked.
I looked back and saw a bus with the name Bhargav Constructions written on the top of it. I agreed to Abdul that this would be the safest and quickest option for me. Abdul stopped the bus and gave the instructions to the driver about carrying me safely to the coaching centre. I then rode the bus and Abdul left to find a mechanic.
As I boarded the bus an unfamiliar smell hit my nostrils. It was the smell of day-long sweat mixed with dirt and other things coming from the bodies of about thirty female labourers who were returning home after the completion of their work at my daddy's construction site. The sudden smell made me feel uneasy as never in my life had I been subjected to heat and sweat. Trying to adjust myself I slowly looked around to find a seat. The driver was interestingly a woman too. She said, "Miss you may sit anywhere, after all you are our chhoti malkin (Younger female owner)."
I smiled and said, "Don't worry I shall find my seat. You may drive."
The bus had specially built large curtains that ran parallelly from one end to the other which when extended turned two pairs of seats into compartments. So if all the curtains were extended no person would be able to see what's going on in front or back of him/her. Now the curtains were open and I could see till the end of the bus.
Every seat of the bus was meant for two but most were occupied. I saw that towards the end of the bus one seat was vacant and I decided to sit there. All the women seated in the bus were surprised to see me and were whispering among themselves. As I walked past the curious and buzzing women sitting on my either side the smell of the sweat hit my nostrils again. It was not an AC bus and hence the heat was there. After coming from the construction work these women were all sweaty and the smell in the air was the combination of their reeking bodies. Only comfort was the cool breeze blowing through the windows when the bus was in motion.
As I reached the vacant seat I found it was half occupied by a tall, very dark woman in her forties. She had her eyes closed, probably resting after a hard day's work. She was wearing a sleeveless dress and since the window next to her was not open, she was sweating a lot. The sweat was glistening on her very dark skin and though it was not an attractive sight at all, I couldn't help but stare at her. She had a well built figure that showed that she was into physical work. I quietly sat beside her without disturbing her peaceful resting position.
But as the bus moved on I was getting more uncomfortable with time. I was not at all used to staying in non AC conditions and the humid atmosphere due to the shut window added to my discomfort. The woman beside me was sweating a lot and I could smell her sweat even from a distance. I wanted the window to be opened but the woman was at the window side. I slowly reached for the window pane and opened the glass, taking care that I didn't disturb the resting woman. As I moved past her I could inhale the strong smell of her sweaty body odour.
As soon as the fresh air came in I was relieved but also the labourer woman opened her eyes. The accumulated sweat slowly dripped from the side of her forehead as she looked towards me. Her dark face had a few marks and pimples and her lips were partially dark as well. She took out a packet of tobacco and slipped a bit in her mouth from it. The smell of the tobacco along with the sweaty smell really made me uncomfortable but I didn't say anything. The woman said, "Hey, who are you, my beautiful girl? You look like a pretty fairy, so fair, so lovely."
I just managed a smile and said, "I am Mr Bhargav's daughter. My car broke down on the way and so I boarded this bus. I hope I haven't disturbed you."
The woman laughed and said, "No, not at all, pretty girl. I work in your father's construction firm. My name is Kamla."
As she chewed tobacco and talked she moved herself a bit closer to me so that her sleeveless arms were brushing against my arms and shoulders. Her body was reeking of sweat and some of her sweat was getting into my clothes as well. So, I adjusted myself to sit a bit further from her so that I was almost at the edge of the seat. Kamla closed her eyes again as the gentle breeze blew from outside.
Suddenly it grew darker outside due to accumulation of clouds in the sky and soon it started to rain heavily. Water was coming in from the window and hence Kamla shut the glass of the window pane again. She spit out the tobacco from her mouth before that. Although it was raining outside, the temperature inside hadn't cooled down yet and so I grew uncomfortable again. Due to the humidity Kamla had started to sweat again. She once again closed her eyes and rested. I looked around to find any other vacant seat but there were none. Besides, all the window glasses were shut now due to the rain.
Gradually the sweaty odour of all the female bodies inside increased with time. Meanwhile Kamla with her eyes still closed raised her hand upwards and folded it from the elbow to keep the palm of her hand on her neck. It was the hand that was on my side and I couldn't help but stare at her armpit. It was fully hairy and looked like a sweaty mess. Now a stronger body odour came into my nostrils and even when I moved my face around I could still smell it. I tried to ignore it but it was always there, the strong smell and my constant urge to have a look at it. The sweaty hairy mess in the armpit of the labour woman was a very unattractive sight but my mind was constantly urging me to look at it with the corner of my eye.
