Fiction: Little Girl on the Bus

Deeksha Vissapragada

- Deeksha Vissapragada

It was a hot, windy afternoon in the heart of Bengaluru. I was done with college for the day and was waiting for my usual bus to get back to my hostel. I realized I’d forgotten my wallet and didn’t have cash to pay for the bus ticket. Thankfully, Google Pay on my phone came to my rescue. I asked the peanut vendor by the bus stop if he could give me ₹15 in cash and I would Google Pay him that amount. He sees me every day, so he agreed happily.

The bus halted at the stop. And I got on the bus after everyone else did. I loved going on that bus every day. Although I could go by an autorickshaw, I chose to go on the bus every day for some human interaction, which I so desperately needed. I was living far from home. And missed my family deeply. Going on that bus every day just made me feel happy and a part of something. Once I would go back to my hostel room of four walls, I would have nobody to talk to. 

I found a seat on the bus. I glanced at everyone around me. I was sitting next to a mother and daughter.  The mom was bringing her daughter, probably a 7-year-old, from school which was a common scene on the bus every day. But something about this small girl made me want to keep looking at her. I still don’t know if it was her kind eyes or her mischievous smile. The mom noticed that I was looking at her daughter and chuckled. In Hindi, she asked me where I was coming from and where I was going. She was very gentle and kind. I replied to her saying I was coming from college, and I was on my way back to my hostel. I knew she wasn’t a native Hindi speaker because of her Kannada accent. And my Hindi is not great either. We chatted for a bit and she asked me if I was a Hindi speaker and with a smile, I replied, “No, No. My mother tongue is Telugu,” and she was delighted. She said in Telugu “Oh, wow, I really love Telugu. We watch a lot of Telugu movies,” she pointed at her daughter and said, “she too loves Telugu movies.” And while the mom and I were talking, I continuously observed that the girl kept smiling and enjoying herself. And I just loved everything about this small girl. And then I asked the mom about the girl. She told me her name was Sanjana.

I had a habit of listening to Telugu songs on the bus ride every day, and it made me feel at home. So, I continued listening to my music. Yet I kept looking over at Sanjana. It amused me how much energy she had after such a long day at school. There was another passenger with her son sitting in front of us. Sanjana kept playing with the passenger’s braid. Sometimes Sanjana’s mom told her to stop but sometimes she didn’t notice. The mom was flustered yet amused, but Sanjana went on having fun, completely mesmerized by the woman’s braid. Every time she hit the lady’s braid, she chuckled naughtily. I found it so very adorable. I had a chocolate bar in my bag, and gave it to Sanjana, and she took it without any hesitation. And I loved that. But Sanjana’s mom felt awkward and told me not to give it to her. She was telling Sanjana to give it back to me. But I insisted. I wanted Sanjana to have it. Finally, the mom gave up. Sanjana grinned radiantly with all her teeth showing up. I was so happy. Sanjana gave me a tight hug and wouldn’t leave me. Not feeling the touch of my family for so long, that hug meant a lot to me. It brought me unimaginable joy.

Sanjana’s mom smiled at me. She gazed at her daughter with an abundance of love. This girl had the ability to bring a smile to everyone around her.

My heart was broken by Sanjana’s mother’s words as she disclosed their difficulties. Their family was struggling financially, which was made worse by Sanjana’s mental health issues. She mentioned how they were considering sending Sanjana to a “special school,” so she could be taken care of better.

I was thinking about this encounter for days after it took place. The joyous bundle of energy that Sanjana was as well as her cheerful mother, made me realize that even with such hardships in life, you can still be just as happy, since a good number of the affected are unaware of their condition. Presumably, Sanjana was blissfully oblivious of her condition. Just like that, I couldn’t detect anything odd behind Sanjana’s kindness and the purity of her smile. There is so much commotion in life we forget to pause and appreciate these small incidents that make us human and empathic.

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Bio: Deeksha Vissapragada (born in Chicago, Illinois) and currently living in Dallas, is a student of Criminology (BA) at the University of Texas at Dallas. She did her schooling in Hyderabad, India. She is into designing, painting, drawing, crocheting, and writing. She actively takes part in all co-cum-extracurricular activities, winning quite a few prizes. She was an active member of a literary club in high school, and also a participant in the Hyd-Bards Mini-Fest, 2022. A highly energetic girl, she co-compered the four-hour-long New Year celebrations in 2020 in her community on a cold night, along with a lady triple her age.

Email: deeksha.vissapragada@gmail.com

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Setu, April 2025