Our trusty bus driver stopped on the side of a highway to pay the mandatory transportation fees or taxes. As he left, we saw a group of young men approaching with monkeys. In the midst of our excitement at seeing monkeys, Ingrid warned to watch out.

As the men surrounded the bus, the monkeys jumped on and crawled all around the bus with us inside. Thrilled at seeing monkeys for the first time in India , my colleagues and I were delighted. Then some of us made the grave mistake of taking out our cameras and photographing the monkeys.

At that moment, the atmosphere changed, as the men demanded money for the photograph. Disturbed by the aggressive demands and increasing anger of the men, we retreated. But at that point we dared not open the windows to give out money. With anger arising, they surrounded the bus and banged on its sides to demand payment. Sharla threatened to call the police. Then they started to open the bus windows and reach their hands inside. The situation escalated into a struggle to keep the windows, many with non-functioning locks, closed.

In between the yelling and harassment, tension grow, as we tried to handle the situation calmly, namely cutting off communication, ignoring them, and fighting the urge to panic until hopefully they left.

But I suddenly, found myself trying to wrestle my window closed against one of the guys outside. I asked Ingrid to take my bag onto her lap in case the man’s hand got in through the window. Then, one of our group members had the courage to barely crack open a window and chuck some money outside, just enough to satisfy them. In relief they started to retreat.

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This instance shows how quickly a situation can escalate or degenerate as people fall into a blind mob mentality of aggressiveness and base behavior. There is a point of no return, and if one crosses that line that the worst events may play out inevitably.

Security is certainly a major issue in India. Delhi is under red alert for possible terrorist attacks. In major areas such as the airports, groups of soldiers and different police groups patrol the grounds. But in other areas where there is no security personnel in sight –combined with a failing justice system, corrupt law enforcement, and serious challenges to rule of law– one  feels powerless at the mercy of outside forces.  This threat triples for women and girls, who cannot risk going out in the streets of Delhi or most locations at night past 8pm.

The psychological stress of being surrounded in such a situation and predicament is already high. However, for many of the women that experience this kind of pressure, with the added violations of sexual harassment, it is devastating. India, especially northern India, is now globally known for harassment against  women and girls by male individuals or groups.

For all it was worth, here is the photo.  Photo credit obligatory – I went through a lot of trouble for that…. And my apologizes to everyone on the bus that day.