Yeah, once upon the roads of Peshawar, not so far ago in time, I still remember when I used to wake up early in the morning, get ready and set out for office on foot. I would walk to the nearby bus stop, and would hop onto a public bus.
It was fun being on the bus during winters. I loved the walk, to and from the bus stop. I would walk for as much of the distance as I could, not because I couldn't afford a transportation, but because I thought this walk was good for me.
There would be so much traffic. It was always hard to cross the road even in the mornings. The whole walk for me, to and from my workplace was approximately one and a half hour a day. I enjoyed it a lot.
Watching people sitting on top of the buses, hanging from the buses, and so many people inside the bus, that it seemed as if they were stuffed in. I would climb the bus early in the morning, would sit in the women's area inside the bus, though when I got late sometimes, I'd love to stand for the whole trip.
The bus would stand at each stop on the way for quite some time, gathering more and more passengers onboard. The conductor would shout, "Break-sha ostaaz" means, stop the bus, so that some could get off, while others could get on. Then he would shout, "Chalao" which meant "go". I learnt that if you want to get off the bus, just shout to the driver, "Break Sha Ostaaz".
Peshawar, a full of life city, the capital of NWFP, today you won't see as much traffic as there was. It was always fun to set out on foot, and walk the roads. Today it's a bit risky, cause you never know when and where you may hear a blast. Those who love to walk, still do, but most don't. You will find less than half the traffic on roads now.
I wish and hope things would get normal like they were, and Peshawar would once again come back to life.
Though to me, it is pretty much alive !
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