Traffic Blues

I looked at my newly gifted Titan Raga watch. It showed 8:02 pm. In the distance, I could see the traffic light turning green. I waited for the auto rickshaw in which I was sitting to move forward. Nothing happened. I could now see the green blob turning orange and then immediately red. But we hadn't moved an inch. "What the heck!!!" I groaned aloud. The autowallah was sitting patiently wiping the sweat on his neck with a rag that had turned black with soot and much use.

At 8:06 pm, the signal again turned green. My autowallah pressed the ignition button of the machine but before he could drive ahead the signal turned red. The story repeated two more times before I lost my cool and started abusing the Government, the municipal corporation and all and sundry. "This country has gone for a toss. The Government builds such ridiculous roads and the public transport system is horrible. That’s the reason we have these traffic jams. And we pour souls who pay taxes honestly are the ones who suffer the most.”

"Madam, you are absolutely correct, but today it seems the case here is slightly different. Seems there has been a “lafda”", the autowallah said in order to cut short my tirade. And he was right. I could see that in other lanes, the traffic was moving smoothly. It was only in our direction that the traffic had stuck. I waited for a few more minutes before giving up. I paid the auto driver saying that I would walk past the traffic junction at Juhu Circle and from there I would take another auto.

Today was one of the most harrowing days in a very long time. Firstly, I slept through my alarm. Usually when I wake up, the first thing I say is a morning prayer. But today, the first word I uttered on noticing the time in the clock was, "S#@&"!! And so that was how my day was. Utter "S#@&"!! I had a major argument with my manager over my half yearly performance rating. In my sour mood I skipped the lunch and then finally when I was hungry, I got a huge pile of work to finish before leaving. I had almost missed the last office bus to Andheri. It was only in the bus that I realized that not only was I hungry but my bladder was pushing to its limit. And now this horrendous traffic!

After walking for nearly 500 meters, I came upon a large crowd standing in the middle of the road forming a circle. So this was the 'lafda'. Curious to know what the scuffle was all about, I broke into the circle. There I could see a new red Skoda Superb rammed into a divider. One of its head lights had been smashed due to the impact and there was a major dent on the driver's door. There was also an auto standing innocently right next to the car. The owner of the car, a giant man in his white shirt and white pants and oh no, white shoes too, had caught the driver of the auto from his neck with one hand and with the other hand was slapping the driver freely. The driver, a small man in stature, was cowering and was trying unsuccessfully to shield his face with his hands. "You autowallahs think you are the only people who drive on these roads. You act like Gods. Whenever you feel like, you turn in any direction. See now what have you done to my new car. It's all smashed," the car owner growled all the while hitting at the helpless auto driver. I agreed with the car owner, the autowallahs were rowdy drivers. They would turn right or left without notice without showing the indicators. Sometimes they would stick out their legs to indicate they were turning. Now who on the earth would notice their leg sticking out and assume they wanted to change directions! But still this was no way to punish the wrong doer. We are not in a Taliban ruled state. And the poor autowallah had started bleeding from his nose and mouth. There were scores of people standing on either sides watching the scene like silent spectators but nobody uttered a word. I had enough of this nasty drama.

I went to the car owner and said very politely, “Excuse me, uncle, please stop now. You have punished him enough and he looks sorry now."

The giant man barely turned towards me and shouted, “Who are you to tell me? It's not your car that has been smashed."

A normal person would have left the scene there and then. Why to get involved in this scuffle. But the Jhansi ki Rani in me was unleashed. I could feel the adrenaline rushing to my blood. I could not see a helpless driver being murdered before my eyes. Keeping a leash on my control, I ventured again ever so politely, “Uncle, yes I agree but you cannot kill the fellow for that. Take him to the police station if you want but please do not hit him. Look at him, he is ready to faint".

His temper flared, I could see from the way his nostrils dilated. He released the autowallah for a while but then he held me from one arm and flung me to the far side of the road. Fortunately for me, instead of hitting the ground, I dashed against his car. But I felt a sharp pain on my abdomen where my body took the maximum brunt and I cried out aloud in pain. Enough was enough, I decided. I had to do something about this. I could not let this insane man go on. But I knew my limits. I was in no way fit to fight this oversized man. I needed to think of some alternative. From the corner of my eye, I could see there was a group of 5-6 other autowallahs standing witnessing the entire scene. They had parked their vehicles nearby. I went up to them and pleaded with them, "Bhaiya, why are you standing like this, go and save your fellow brother. You can't allow him to be beaten. Today it's him but tomorrow it could be either one of you. He is hitting the auto driver because he owns a fancy car and the poor guy an auto. Would it have been the same if the position had been reversed? You have to show some solidarity for your fraternity."

What I had said must have hit some nerve because in the next instance, they all went up to the car owner and shouted, "Leave the man alone or face the consequences."

The car owner looked at them. He knew he was physically well built, but still he was no match for half a dozen men. He knew he had to stop right then. He immediately lifted his hands in the air to signify peace. In the next moment, he ran to his car, reversed and drove in top gear. I thanked to those auto drivers who were very grateful to me in return. I urged one of them to take the bleeding driver to a doctor. With the crowd dispersing, the traffic cleared and started moving once again. I had just started to walk once again, when my old autowallah came up to me and stopping his vehicle beside me said, "It’s you, Madam. I thought you would have reached home by now, but seem you are still stuck here. Come on, I will drop you to your home now that the traffic is moving once again".

Without waiting for a second prompting, I sat in the auto.

"Did you come to know why the traffic had stopped?" the driver asked me.

I shook my head to say 'no'. Tired with the whole ordeal, I was in no mood to narrate the story. And besides, my bladder was ready to burst. On arriving home, I paid the driver and ran inside without even collecting the change. Only when I relieved myself that my mental faculties started to function once again.

Phew, what a day!! On hitting the bed that night, I made doubly sure to say my good night prayer, not once but twice!!!