Finally, it came through. A drive against manspreading! Do not laugh at me for I'm not the one who coined that word. It's nothing but encroaching knowingly or unknowingly upon the nearest seat destined for a fellow passenger in a public transport system. In other words, each passenger is entitled to a place to sit and he/she has to be content with the allotted area and any impingement, whatsoever, is an invasion of your neighbour's property and privacy.
Spreading unrealistically and physically to an area supposed to have been used by another bona fide passenger is manspreading. Probably this usage opens up a possibility: men coming up with complaints that it simply aims at them.
It started in Spain a month ago with a #MadridSinManspreading. The sign that has been put up in all public transport carries a faceless male with legs and arms spread wide invading the neighbour's seat. This should be an eye-opener to the people all over the world. We Indians also see people sitting spread-eagled and sleeping or pretending to do so, quite often. Majority of us would leave such people undisturbed, honouring their right to sleep at their own convenience.
Although there are seats assigned for ladies, seniors and the differently-abled, none bothers to respect the law in Kerala's public transport systems. And if you are one among those privileged to sit over there, there's every possibility of you being targeted and laughed at for your age, gender or physical shortcoming. Then you have an option of complaining about the matter to the conductor of the bus who is already struggling to conduct himself. At the most, he would shoot the ball back to you pretending he is not a party to all the scribbling you see on the bus. In other words, you yourself have to blaze the trail. Thinking about the unbeknownst fate of the war you’re fighting, possibly leading to a public disgrace, you opt for standing the whole journey.
The man who breaks the law also knows that you won’t dare invest your time and money power for an uphill battle like this. One swallow cannot alone make summer, but pray for it. There's a masculine thought that this particular locution is not politically correct as it's clearly aiming at males only. They claim that it's a payback in kind for the term 'she-bagging' created by some men against the usual sight of women keeping all their bag and baggage beside them killing the privileges of the co-passengers. But eventually, what’s in a name if it serves the purpose?
Suresh Nellikode
Email: suresh.nellikode@gmail.com