MANY WERE WATCHING HIM






Pic.: Shankar Ramachndran
As the autorickshaw I was commuting by stopped at the busy signal, the cleaner of the tempo next to us spat out on the road, inches away from us, blood-red paan from his mouth. Barely the mess had touched the ground, my young autowala blasted: “You idiot, do you do it on your house-floor, too?”… He was really furious!

“Why are you worked-up? Is there any problem for you?” the cleaner yelled back.

“Yes, there ‘is’ a problem for me,” my autowala was out on the road, now, “Do you want me to show you that?”

 On the other side, the cleaner opened the tempo-door and was ready to pick the gauntlet…

The yellow-light had already flashed… I knew, if someone didn’t intervene, a war would break out on the busy street!

So, I held my autowala’s hand, gently, saying, “Brother, let it be.”

On the others side, I saw the tempo-driver gently pleading before the autowala, “Sorry brother, he shouldn’t have done that.”

Luckily, the cleaner had calmed down, by now… and, my autowala was back on his seat… “This city is dirty because of these pigs!” he gave out his last line!

The green-light had come on, and the tempo and auto both went in their own directions…


On rest of my journey, a few questions haunted my mind:

Why did my autowala react so spontaneously and I didn’t? Was he more concerned about our city than I was?

Why did the tempo-driver ask an unconditional apology and what made the cleaner calm down, so quickly?

What if a war had broken out on the road?

When I gave the fare, I said to my autowala, “You did a great service to this city… Many were watching you!”

I was one of them, for sure.


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...