One hour of the time I am awake, I spend on the roads.
That’s like 10 per cent of my day is spent on road.
It is this one hour a day that has taught me some of the most profound lessons of life. The metaphors are too many if you start with this analogy. First, apologies to Shakespeare.
All the world’s a road and we are mere travellers.
Flash cut: Aadmi Musafir Hota Hai, Hero… Aata Hai, Jaata Hai…
— Billa (Sanjay Dutt in Musafir)
What do I love most about the road and the traffic?
The philosophy that flashes from a traffic signal.
Stop. Relax. Go. Stop. Relax. Go. Stop. Relax. Go.
It’s those lights that provide a rhythm to our everyday lives. We set out, get caught in the traffic, some times overspeed overlooking beautiful moments, try to sneak past the STOP line as the amber comes on and ultimately STOP when we don’t have a choice. We RELAX for a bit and go again, resume the journey of life.
Yes, I find the whole thing spiritual. It applies to all of us. At every crucial junction of life, we need that constant reminder. Slow Down. Don’t Rush. Give others a chance too. Breathe. Go.
The way we ride makes us the people we are. Rash. Or Patient. Adventurous. Or Cautious. Disciplined. Or Going with the flow.
Go Slow boards. U-Turn signs. The speed-breakers. The cops. The guy overtaking you at the signal and the other honking behind when the light is RED. The old woman crossing the road. The beggars at the signal. The poor cyclist who has to fight for his space in the motorised world. The guy in the backseat of a Mercedes reading a newspaper oblivious to the world outside. The girl with the salwar covering her face to protect her from dust and the evil eye of men. The family of four on a motorcycle as the baby looks at you from the mother’s shoulder. The fishcart. The rash autorickshaw driver who nearly got you killed. And the girl inside it talking to her boyfriend. Characters from different ends of a spectrum, people and situations who make life larger than what it seems to be, all wait at the great leveller — The Zebra Crossing. For their turn to move on.
You can either wait patiently, or keep honking. But you can move, only when the light goes GREEN.
So, don’t take that hand/leg off the accelerator. Keep your eyes open. Your time, will come.
Posted In: Archives
MADRAS INK. 
*whistle*
One of ur best.
wah re wah. philosophy-a? and talking about zebra-crossing, i got to see how wonderfully you cross the road, ok, mr.panics-when-cyclist-rings-his-bell… :))
But nice how the baby looks all interestingly at you from over mummy’s shoulder, no?
Wowie…quite a traveller you must be. Liked the post.
What happned to ‘That Four Letter Word?’
My blog: http://ouchmytoe.rediffblogs.com
suderman,
The family of four in a two-wheeler is the amazing lot.Sometimes when there is a traffic jam and every vehicle moves by an inch per minute,the father of this group really has to manage the bike with all ppl in it…it’s surely quite a task.
and it really does present the whole meaning of family.
On the fun part,it is fun to see the guy waiting in the signal who overtook u 5 mts back…and it is still more fun when kinetic has a good start speed and we can just go in a snap,when that guy struggles with his gear,ofcourse to lead till the overtake happens again.
Tanks, anonymous!
Heroihni!!
The answer to that is in the comments section of ur blog!
🙂
ouch my toe!!
TFLW is on… shooting next month! 🙂
nice blog u havE!
cheers man!
lol!
yeah the guy who overtakes u only to join you at the next signal… yeah! havent we all seen him??
but sooner or later, this guy too will learn that life has a certain rhythm and no matter how fast you go, you stil might need to wait…and maybe longer than the rest! 🙂
the family of four is a cute sight indeed, just like three giggly girls going triples on the kinetic! Tell me, why do most women riders ride fast? insecurity? of just cuz they re all schumi fans?? 😛
and when you allow someone to cut across your path (of life) in front of you (distract u on ur onward process) from the left(the wrong) side, and you apply sudden brakes (thoughts of concern for another person) to avoid impending disaster, then someone hits you from the behind (you are caught by greater disaster that injures you rather than if you had not applied sudden brakes to injure that someone)
yeah and i know that didnt make sense to you.i doubt it’ll make sense to me tomoro.why are u breathless?
errrrr!!!when u drive i mean 😀 like why do u have to stop, relax. breathe??? 😀
Aadmi Musafir Hota Hai,.. Aata Hai.. Jaata Hai..
btw, the lines are actually from a song- a superb duet by Rafi and Lata – from a movie called ‘Apnapan’ …
Mebe
suderman,
good one..probably one of your best..keep it up..
Cheers
ritz
“why do most women riders ride fast? insecurity? of just cuz they re all schumi fans??”
Thats an interesting question.
Should we answer it and put a fullstop for ur thinking/guessing? or should we ignore it,so that u’ll keep guessing the answers?:)
the later is preferable…:)
breathless:
most of us run outta breath chasing our dreams, trying to get to our destination…all the while forgetting that it’s the journey thats far more longer, exciting and eventful than the actual destination.
The traffic signal is just there to remind us to breathe, enjoy the moment. Live.
Yeah, I know its out of character for you to do that, but sometimes we need to breathe for brightening up the world! You’re the “angel” remember? 😀
MEBE:
Oh, thanks dude… I didn’t know that! I’ll check that out!
Ritzkini:
Thank you! 🙂 and welcome back!
schumi fan,
u’re name gives you away! 🙂