Now that I commute to work these days, I find this gap a lot. This dynamic empty space that is created either by the movement of the object from the point or an over sized object trying to fit in the limited space. By the latter, I mean a Mitsubishi Outlander trying to get into a space where a Nano has to squeeze in (and extra points if the Outlander has only one person, as big as a mini bus to carry one person. ONE PERSON). I mean, come on man! I could have easily gone in there. That’s what commuting is today. Filling the gap in the road from starting point to destination. That’s how I see a typical commuter today. There is this obsession to fill in the gap. Why? That’s how you show your domination. I’ve seen the stares through the helmet after denying me the chance to fill the gap. That’s the look you see in Discovery Channel when one animal wins a fight. In this fight though, the prize is to get stuck in the same traffic just a little closer to the signal than before. And everyone seems to be in a hurry as if it’s the end of the world, the ground is falling apart behind them and the only way to survive is to move forward whatever it takes. But to my eyes, the more you want to fill the gap, the more crazier you are. The crazy scale starts with ten points for “I want to beat that guy who is near to the gap when I’m 10m away” and probably kazillion points for “there is a gap which can fit one bi-cycle between two fast moving container trucks and I’m going to fit my bike though it”. Maybe it doesn’t end there, I hope it does. But that’s the craziest I’ve seen. I can’t get my mind into a situation where I’m in such a hurry that I’ll do something like that. I’ve heard some old phrase which says “It’s better to be Late Mr, than to be Mr. Late”, I’d say it’s better to be a little late than to not reach at all. Right?
If one person’s anger can lead to a war, then forget water, traffic would be lead to world war 3.
More money = can buy more water. The problem is solved.
But more money = more vehicles = more traffic = more chaos = more anger = you fill the rest yourself.
bikes
Stick No Bills!
This idea struck me when I was watching the late George Carlin’s routine about bumper stickers. It was well thought out like each of his stand-ups and got me thinking, is this the same case in Indian roads? That’s when I started observing and this is a rant of what I’ve seen so far. Its more of my own thoughts when I see a sticker on a vehicle. For certain reasons I’m leaving out the owner names and god references stuck on vehicles. No making fun of it (lips sealed)
The biggest thing I <insert angry feeling here> was the “Don’t kiss me” stuck on the tail light of the bikes. I mean,how could you do that? the minute I saw the bike, I wanted to kiss it and take it on a date that night! Don’t do this man!! 😛 Seriously, when did bumping into another vehicle become kiss? If thats what the owner thinks and if the bike is compared to a human being, then is the bumping bike really kissing the..yeah, the same thing what you think. Yuck!
There was an Apache with “my mom’s gift” stuck on the sides. I stopped near it and looked at the bike. It made me instantly happy how clean the bike was manitained and I felt a bit of a respect towards the biker. Everytime I see a bike with “dad’s gift” or “mom’s gift” stuck on it, the first thing that strikes my mind is that, the owner isn’t earning enough to buy himself the bike or he’s earning and still his parents have bought him the gift with their money and he’s proud to show it off with the sticker, either way, he should maintain the bike with care atleast if he understands what the sticker says ( him, his and he’s because I’ve never seen this on a bike driver by a girl, maybe I should observe more, I meant the bike). If the same bike looked ill maintained inspite of being new and everything, I’d have surely thought “Shame on you Mr.Owner, you’ve let a random stranger on the streets down” ( not that I matter in anyway but still..)
I’ve read a story about a lion being brought up with sheeps. It was around sheeps for so long that it thought itself as one of them and never quite got to the fact that it was a lion even after being left in the jungle. This exact story crossed my mind when I saw a guy on a pulsar 150 with a sticker “220” on its sides. If this thing really works, I’m buying myself one.
..forgot to remember a few stickers with spelling errors that gave a whole other meaning. More to follow sometime soon, afterall, all it takes is a look around!
Keeping myself occupied with things like these makes traffic more interesting. Hope life throws more humor around me to keep me entertained.