One morning I started from home hoping to reach office on time to attend an all important meeting. The day looked pleasant on the onset with birds chirping along happily and the wind blowing softly. The beginning was happy. The mind was relaxed with a good night’s sleep. The delivery of the two essentials- newspaper and tea had not missed their deadlines and the day looked promising. All the people I met in the morning exchanged pleasantries without much ado. Everything was just fine until the engine of my car was brought to life and the vehicle was steered to the main road that resides in close proximity to my residence (I can say the main road is happily married to my residence).
The streets were filled with gamut of vehicles. From the thunderous, dark smoke spitting, under maintained – heavily over utilized trucks to the non-pollutant, snail paced bullock cart dragged by a extremely malnourished bull- the protruding ribs of which a kindergarten kid can conveniently count, flocked the street. Road rage is a common place in such situations where people just want to beat all odds and reach their destination in a record time. In the process, if a few people and animals come under the wheels of their speeding vehicles, the joy and jubilation of having made it to the destination much before others, surpasses the grief of having lost a few Samaritans who laid their life for this one cause. It’s still unfortunate that people still talk of conquering the Everest as a greatest achievement by humans while conveniently forgetting the adventure, risk, effort and extreme pressure exuded by folks in metros. This is an unfair world and this is a living testimony. I had a long gasp of polluted air to convince myself that I too can beat all odd’s to reach office on time. The mind however was restless.
The clogged roads normally have a few common traits. The so called bumper-to-bumper traffic (which ideally means in 9 out of 10 occasions the guy behind will bump into the vehicle in front) doesn’t really subside irrespective of the time of the day. Even in those situations when the vehicular density is relatively low, the behaviors of bumper-to-bumper is prominent because it’s just in our blood. What if the guy in front reaches his destination before me? What if the vehicle in front gets to veer past a traffic junction and I get struck staring the red light for a few minutes haplessly staring the fellow souls wearing a countenance that of a lost battle? The heart feels heavy in resentment and the breath loses its normal rhythm. When you are a part of the battle, the only thing you need to do is to fight. It’s the survival of the fastest. The mind started growing suspicious again of victory, but I laid its fear to rest by thumping my chest with my fist and with a loud proclaim – I can do it. We sometimes need to get into that battle like mindset.
I got my car onto the main road and maneuvered it in to small pockets of gaps that are occasionally left open by rookie drivers. Appreciating my driving skills myself I was always on the offensive. The overtakes were courageous and honking was deafening. I was a man on a mission; a mission to reach office on time. I had everything in my stride when another vehicle apparently driven by another guy with a similar mindset like me came from nowhere and posed a extreme risk of heavy collision. My heart skipped a beat and the right leg searched for the brake lever like never before. The pressure on the brakes brought the car to a screeching halt. The situation was similar on the other side.
The era, in which we live, the word sympathy has gone to oblivion. I wanted to come back to my senses from what had just transpired. I wished to take a few breaths of relief, but the commuters who had crowded from every direction, stated honking as if the world would end if their vehicles didn’t move an inch for a split second. I wanted to thank my stars for having averted the lurking danger and move on, but I happened to notice the other guy making exaggerated hand signals at me. It was a clear indication that I did not possess the adequate driving skills. No man when challenged about his driving skills, his inability to attract girls or his inability to be in control after downing a few pegs, appreciates it even if he’s the worst at it. After all dignity is our birth right and we must fight for it even if we are internally convinced that we are bad at it.
I retaliated back with similar hand gestures and soon the situation turned sour. The guy screamed something at the top of his voice. I could see his vocal cords vibrate and collide, but thanks to the incessant honking, the words didn’t reach my ears. It was my turn now. The owners of the jammed vehicles started to stare at me anticipating a retaliated scream. I did not feel like shouting back and wanted to steer off my vehicle past the commotion. But, pride was at stake. At that moment I realized the burden of anticipation of millions that Tendulkar carries on his shoulders every time he goes out to bat. I just had 8-10 souls waiting in anticipation. I was challenged. I felt like a hero whom the crowd expected to walk out of his car, pull out the intruder, thrash him and bring him down to his knees. I pitied them since nothing of that sort was going to happen. However I had to give back something. I did not want the tag of a loser hanging around my neck. So I reciprocated by a few thunderous words that were so carefully toned that the enemy felt something drastic was uttered, yet could not make out what exactly was spoken. His exasperation and the focus shift of the fellow commuters towards him made me quietly applaud my talent. Self appreciation is best when you don’t get it from others.
The enemy shouted ‘mind your business’ and I was lucky enough to hear it. It was neither damaging nor insulting. I happily handed back his words screaming ‘I know my business, you mind yours’. Immediately I was lost after my words since I didn’t know what my business was; I still am clueless about it! Nevertheless, the volley of verbal abuses continued for a brief while, but none of us was courageous enough to get out of the car for a physical fight. It’s better to stand at a distance and boast of your unfathomable prowess than to actually display it and make it evident that you don’t have any.
The traffic police intervened and ordered us to get going. They would have seen enough of this in their daily routines. Just as we stared to get back to business, the enemies stared at each other. It was as if to say the police saved you, else you were a goner! But deep inside there was a relief that nothing much happened and staring at the watch, the lost time sent the adrenaline pumping, and the race against time reemerged to reach the meeting on time!!
The streets were filled with gamut of vehicles. From the thunderous, dark smoke spitting, under maintained – heavily over utilized trucks to the non-pollutant, snail paced bullock cart dragged by a extremely malnourished bull- the protruding ribs of which a kindergarten kid can conveniently count, flocked the street. Road rage is a common place in such situations where people just want to beat all odds and reach their destination in a record time. In the process, if a few people and animals come under the wheels of their speeding vehicles, the joy and jubilation of having made it to the destination much before others, surpasses the grief of having lost a few Samaritans who laid their life for this one cause. It’s still unfortunate that people still talk of conquering the Everest as a greatest achievement by humans while conveniently forgetting the adventure, risk, effort and extreme pressure exuded by folks in metros. This is an unfair world and this is a living testimony. I had a long gasp of polluted air to convince myself that I too can beat all odd’s to reach office on time. The mind however was restless.
The clogged roads normally have a few common traits. The so called bumper-to-bumper traffic (which ideally means in 9 out of 10 occasions the guy behind will bump into the vehicle in front) doesn’t really subside irrespective of the time of the day. Even in those situations when the vehicular density is relatively low, the behaviors of bumper-to-bumper is prominent because it’s just in our blood. What if the guy in front reaches his destination before me? What if the vehicle in front gets to veer past a traffic junction and I get struck staring the red light for a few minutes haplessly staring the fellow souls wearing a countenance that of a lost battle? The heart feels heavy in resentment and the breath loses its normal rhythm. When you are a part of the battle, the only thing you need to do is to fight. It’s the survival of the fastest. The mind started growing suspicious again of victory, but I laid its fear to rest by thumping my chest with my fist and with a loud proclaim – I can do it. We sometimes need to get into that battle like mindset.
I got my car onto the main road and maneuvered it in to small pockets of gaps that are occasionally left open by rookie drivers. Appreciating my driving skills myself I was always on the offensive. The overtakes were courageous and honking was deafening. I was a man on a mission; a mission to reach office on time. I had everything in my stride when another vehicle apparently driven by another guy with a similar mindset like me came from nowhere and posed a extreme risk of heavy collision. My heart skipped a beat and the right leg searched for the brake lever like never before. The pressure on the brakes brought the car to a screeching halt. The situation was similar on the other side.
The era, in which we live, the word sympathy has gone to oblivion. I wanted to come back to my senses from what had just transpired. I wished to take a few breaths of relief, but the commuters who had crowded from every direction, stated honking as if the world would end if their vehicles didn’t move an inch for a split second. I wanted to thank my stars for having averted the lurking danger and move on, but I happened to notice the other guy making exaggerated hand signals at me. It was a clear indication that I did not possess the adequate driving skills. No man when challenged about his driving skills, his inability to attract girls or his inability to be in control after downing a few pegs, appreciates it even if he’s the worst at it. After all dignity is our birth right and we must fight for it even if we are internally convinced that we are bad at it.
I retaliated back with similar hand gestures and soon the situation turned sour. The guy screamed something at the top of his voice. I could see his vocal cords vibrate and collide, but thanks to the incessant honking, the words didn’t reach my ears. It was my turn now. The owners of the jammed vehicles started to stare at me anticipating a retaliated scream. I did not feel like shouting back and wanted to steer off my vehicle past the commotion. But, pride was at stake. At that moment I realized the burden of anticipation of millions that Tendulkar carries on his shoulders every time he goes out to bat. I just had 8-10 souls waiting in anticipation. I was challenged. I felt like a hero whom the crowd expected to walk out of his car, pull out the intruder, thrash him and bring him down to his knees. I pitied them since nothing of that sort was going to happen. However I had to give back something. I did not want the tag of a loser hanging around my neck. So I reciprocated by a few thunderous words that were so carefully toned that the enemy felt something drastic was uttered, yet could not make out what exactly was spoken. His exasperation and the focus shift of the fellow commuters towards him made me quietly applaud my talent. Self appreciation is best when you don’t get it from others.
The enemy shouted ‘mind your business’ and I was lucky enough to hear it. It was neither damaging nor insulting. I happily handed back his words screaming ‘I know my business, you mind yours’. Immediately I was lost after my words since I didn’t know what my business was; I still am clueless about it! Nevertheless, the volley of verbal abuses continued for a brief while, but none of us was courageous enough to get out of the car for a physical fight. It’s better to stand at a distance and boast of your unfathomable prowess than to actually display it and make it evident that you don’t have any.
The traffic police intervened and ordered us to get going. They would have seen enough of this in their daily routines. Just as we stared to get back to business, the enemies stared at each other. It was as if to say the police saved you, else you were a goner! But deep inside there was a relief that nothing much happened and staring at the watch, the lost time sent the adrenaline pumping, and the race against time reemerged to reach the meeting on time!!
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