Friday, October 19

Road Rage

Do u drive/ride a vehicle in Pune? Coz if u do, thn u can certainly undstd y I’ve thot of writin abt dis VERY crucial topic…

I kno ppl r supposd to hav a drivin license b4 they start drivin a vehicle (and most do, I hope…) Yet, dats a fact I find hard to believ considerin d whackos who cruise down the streets and (pseudo)roads of the city. Rules of d road r broken left, rite and centre… And lets nt for an instant think dat drivers/riders r d only ones to b blamed; no siree! Pedestrians r equally bad… will come 2 dat shortly…

I think driving is a luvly activity. It makes u feel free and in ctrl. I still rem d 1st time I rode a bicycle to school. It felt amazing. I dint hav to depend on my dad or my rickshaw-wala-kaka anymo to pick n drop me frm all over d city. I cud come n go as I wished, plus I cud enjoy d scenes as I rode at my own free will and pace. Yeah, it was tiring at times when I had to trudge home after a hard day’s work’ especially d symbi ‘chaddh’ was a nightmare. But no pain no gain, rite?

Well, so drivin is a great experience, as u hum n sing as u cross mile after mile… But not so great whn d roads r bad n ppl r worse! Dementd freaks drive in the middle of d rd n refuse to budge, or they decide to speed up exactly whn they realiz ur about to overtake thm, or they overtake frm d left widout so much as a honk to inform d others dat His Highness is approachin, or they honk in sucha ‘surround-sound’ way, dat its impossible to fathom which direction they’r comin frm or goin to! To top it all, they give u dirty luks as if ur at fault!!!

Don’t get me wrong – I am a cranky driver, but I aint a bad one. I can get u safe frm one place to another in reasonable time inspite of all d multi-faceted obstacles in the way. I do drive fast, but certainly nt rash; I’m in ctrl… And I worry abt d person sittin behind me… more than myself… (Bangd my dad’s Activa quite a few times a few yrs ago, but since I got my Scooty last yr, thr’s been no unfortunate events - touch wood). However, this dsnt mean dat I dnt yell or abuse ppl on d streets. Not a day/drive passes widout me mutterin words of indignation at folks who jus DON’T kno how to drive on a busy road at a busy time on a busy day! Earlier it was only the PMTs, auto-rickshaws and bicycles… Now thr’s no such demarcation – evrybody’s jumpd onto the bandwagon!

Some drive on the rite side of d road (d fast lane) n refuse to give ‘side’ even if they’re saunterin at 20km/hr. Others sudnly remember dat they’r supposd to be takin rite whn they’r on d extreme left hand corner. Forget indicators, they dnt even care to look a little apologetic, forget abt feelin guilty! Thn thr r those who perpetually hav their indicators on whether they’r goin left, rite or nowhere in particular… n d headlights on as well! N thn thr r those who either show their left indicator or left hand n very conveniently turn rite… LORDDDDDDDDD….

As if the drivers weren’t troublesome enuf, our wise old seniors folks (and some who r not SO senior), walk wid their bac to d traffic while crossin d rd. Due to this ingenious strategy, they get a convenient reason to accuse whoever bangs into thm as they of curz cant see who’s going whr n which vehicle is headed at wat pace, so its d driver’s responsibility to luk out n avoid hittin thm while simultaneously using their judgment n sense of prediction to visualize which direction n pace their feet wil take… grrrrrrrrr!!!

U’v surely experiencd these thins too… N m sure thr r a lot more that can b added here…
But well, lets end on a hopeful note wid a prayer to the Almighty…

“Hear Ye Divine Master, As We Join Thee In Making a Better World; One In Which People Know How To Drive Well, Walk Well, Think Well, Speak Well And Last But Not The Least, To Remember That No One’s In A Massive Hurry To Join You Up There…”

“AMEN”

Wish u luck n a looong, safe, healthy life full on long, pleasant, un-aggressive drives!
Lonely Princess

No comments:

Shadow

He looked at her like she was the air he breathed, Without, he would collapse.  He lived to see her smile, Her dimples, his prized possessio...