5 types of music heard in public transport

When you are living in rural India, there is no one particular way to travel. All you know is your destination and you hitch a ride there in whatever way possible. I’ve been living in rural Karnataka for almost 1.5 months now, and during this period I have travelled by train, roadways buses, private buses, motorcycles, truck (yes, sitting in front beside the driver), auto rickshaws, shared taxis, and most important of all on foot (if you are not a big fan of walking, rural life is not for you). I was sitting in a mini bus while coming back from a visit last week. It wasn’t the first time I was travelling in a public transport, but for the first time I noticed the music they were playing. Thinking back to all the other such journeys, a realization dawned on me. Public transport has music of its own; it has a personality unlike any other. Here are 5 such categories I have come across so far.1) The songs you never knew existed.It was hard to say whether I wanted to laugh or close my ears when I heard, “Ye kaisi mulakat hai” from the movie “Aa ab laut chalen”. In the end I decided it was hilarious.2) I used to hear this song all the time.The songs which were ones at the top of everyone’s playlist and have now vanished are still played here.3) And then there are always local language songs.Every region has local music and it can almost always be found in public transport vehicles of that area.4) Don’t you have earphones?There is always that person in a train coach who plays Bollywood item numbers on loudspeaker.5) And sometimes you are lucky.Finally there are those who have a passion for music and have good songs of each and every category. During a bus ride, I asked the bus conductor about music they were playing and he obliged me by shuffling through his playlist. From Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to Honey Singh to Sonu Nigam, there were good songs by each and every singer you could think of on his playlist.