TRAFFIC JAMS AND SAVIOURS
Driving home tonight from a dinner I took a by lane assuming
that it shall reach me home faster. Alas I had discounted the famous “Pune Grid”
that we Punekars are so adept at making, and at the point where the by lane met
the main highway there was a grid so interlocked that it would put a mosquito
net to shame. And then I knew that I had a long wait ahead of me……..
There was bumper to bumper traffic and I was almost 20 cars
deep. I switched off my engine, increased the volume of my car stereo (even
more than it already was ;-) ) and prepared myself for a long wait. And soon, as
we are all wont to do I started peering around awaiting a miracle that would
end this logjam. As I looked around I noticed an open jeep-(my favorite ride)
filled with young boys. They appeared to be in high spirits, literally! And
were playing music loud enough to rouse the dead. Well, I thought what else can
you expect from youngsters, and then I saw a few of them getting off the jeep
and one of them even smashed a beer bottle on the road. OK, so now I thought
that they were sure to cause a ruckus and probably even break out in a jig.
But trust the youth of today to surprise you, and how! Those
youths weaved their way to the thick of the jam and started directing traffic
adeptly, almost as if they had trained to be cops all their lives. And soon I was
able to start my engine, and roll out. My curiosity however got the better of
me and I kept to the left peering into my rear view mirrors to see if they
would stop once their jeep was in the clear. But no, it was indeed a night of
surprises and I saw the youths still directing traffic even after their ride
was in the clear and as I drove away I saw their jeep now free too, parking to
one side of the road. I don’t know how long they did it. But they have my
gratitude. And as I was peering into my rear view mirrors I had an epiphany and
I realized that what I had just witnessed was probably a vision of the future
of our country.
So now every time I see one of those depressing videos where
people aren't making way for ambulances and are ignoring cries of anguish
emanating from a dark car, I shall think of this and know that goodness abounds
too.
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