by Navin Rajendran

Created on: July 26, 2009   Last Updated: July 27, 2009

"Just another crazy day", I thought to myself, as I tried to manoeuver my bike through the morning traffic on my way to work. Bangalore roads can get really congested during peak-hours. Of course there are rules for the road, but it seemed obvious that they didn't apply to those in a hurry to get to work, home, wherever! They owned the roads.

I noticed one such 'owner', an extremely rash biker, swerving between vehicles at high speed, trying to get ahead of all the vehicles ahead of him. Who does he think he is?, I muttered to myself, even as I spotted car-drivers glaring at him as he whizzed by. I managed to spot the dare-devil ahead of me, waiting at the red-light on a busy intersection. I could not help but smile when I read the words printed on the back of his jacket - 'Michael Schumacher'. Looking up to see the digital display above the traffic-light counting down from 150, I turned off the engine, doing my bit to conserve fuel, keep the environment clean, that sort of thing. Some motorists around me felt that revving their engines and inching ahead would make time go faster. Good luck with that!

To my left was a car, with its engine idling. The driver, a balding man in his thirties, was leaning out of the window. "Yearning for some fresh air perhaps", I thought. A casual glance in his direction quickly changed my mind. I observed a plump lady (his wife, presumably?) by his side, ranting and raving, while he just sat there slouched in his seat, looking toward the traffic-light anxiously, as if its turning green would somehow turn on a red-light to stop his wife's tantrums. I hoped, for his sake, that it would!

To my right, a teenager on his shiny yellow sport-bike had decided to wait it out at the junction by closing his eyes and enjoying the music playing in his head. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that was one size too small, he had no headphones on, but the way he was shaking his head from side to side, you'd be forgiven for thinking he had an invisible music-player strapped to his body. The young man was blissfully lost in his own world and I couldn't help but envy him. I just sighed and hoped that when he grew up and faced the trials and tribulations this big, bad world has to offer, he'd still find the music in his heart to 'carry on'!

A quick look upward at the traffic-light display - '11'. The cacophony reached a crescendo as my fellow motorists revved their engines. I could almost hear a voice on the microphone go 'Gentlemen, start your engines'. Seconds later, the light turned green and I was off on my journey again. But as the vehicles began to move, I could have sworn I heard a sigh of relief... from the harried husband?

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