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Wednesday 31 July 2013

Monday Blues


Are you a perfect driver? Do you know the nuances of driving inside out? Are you a stickler for road rules? If your answers are in the affirmative, gosh, you are a misfit to be a driver in Chennai city [taro-city] where drivers on the road, mostly the atrocious auto ones, create chaos and anarchy not for them but for others.

So, it is good if you know driving by halves so that you could be a slanging match to those half-boiled drivers on their bizarre driving. For, they learn driving only though a half-a-day capsule driving class as their dying wish is to sit behind the wheels of a car and not to learn proper driving.

I met with a touch and go accident on a Monday morning while I was returning back home from Marina beach after a hectic jogging. The mishap occurred because I made a grave mistake: I observed the traffic rules. There were many occasions when other drivers on the road badmouthed me; calling me names coz I was driving normally observing the prescribed speed limit.

Even my family members always loathe traveling in my car. ‘Who would like a camel-ride on a metro road’, they would quip. Once a flippant little girl said to me sarcastically: ‘uncle, do you know there is a part called accelerator exist in every car.’

Coming to the accident, this was how it panned out. I was driving my Santro on the extreme left on the road, halted my vehicle when a schoolboy in front had difficulty negotiating a pot whole as big as a shrew’s mouth. But then, a biker from behind rammed into my car. She did as a normal drive would do in Chennai. Yes, bikers here won’t accomplish two things at one go: driving and at the same time observing traffic rules.

After slamming her vehicle into mine, she did what any reasonable person will do in the circumstance: varoomed off and disappeared in a split second. The young school boy too cycled away without noticing that he was the cause of the accident, a freak one at that.

When an accident occurs even in a remote place in Chennai, you’ll first see a crowd rushes to the spot from nowhere … like a flash in the pan. The arrival of the crowd has always been sudden and swift like a lightning. And then, somebody in the crowd, instead of offering first-aid, will start advising to whoever is in a state to listen. That means, to anyone who is technically not dead or dying.

Naturally, I too was at the receiving end. ‘You should have been more careful’, I heard a lady speaking from the throng. ‘I was careful and that’s why I stopped my car’ I bellowed hiding my usual thin, subdued voice. For, I know the crowd psychology… I know the way a throng would behave in such a situation. That’s way I shouted in a falsetto voice so that the people standing around me would think there was nothing wrong with my driving. The lady who shouted at me now looked at the other way.

‘Was she drunk’? Another scrawny man, seemed a peddler, shouted. ‘I don’t know.’ I spouted my lips. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before someone chimed… a pesky intrusion. ‘You’re lucky. Last week a cyclist mowed down a motorist in the signal. The driver died on the spot, his skull was broken.’ This is an exaggerated morbid fetish … a hyperbole. The speaker must be a script writer though he did not let any such airs’, I thought amusingly. You will always have people like that, recounting gruesome accidents in the most ghastly ways to someone who is beginning to reconcile with the trauma he/she is involved.

Seeing the commotion, a beat constable came running over to us. When I started narrating what happened, he cut me short and asked: ‘Did you notice the register number of the bike?’

‘She sped off even before I could feel that someone hit my car’ I began slobbering.

‘Oh, there you’re. Educated people are like that. You aren’t alert, but blame the police for not booking the offenders,’ the beat constable shot back accusingly.

‘Can you at least tell me how she looked like?

I didn’t want to disappoint the cop this time. So, I happily started giving forth the facial features of the biker who rammed into my car:

‘The biker was a lady, sir. She was incognito, covering her face with duppatta. Her whole face and head was shrouded. She wore sunglasses. She had long gloves pulled up to well over her elbows.’

The policeman stood aghast, looking at me sternly.

The road was now getting busier with  heavy morning traffic. I started off my car hoping the police would net the lady soon.

Image courtesy: Google
Inputs source: NT                                         







33 comments:

  1. Hi, thanks a lot for your visit and nice comments. Happy times.

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  2. so sad but it is happening everyday; everywhere! self discipline alone will clear this illness

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  3. well written i hope none was hurt ?

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  4. I also hope no one was hurt
    Nice write sir :)

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  5. Sir this scene is common in each part of country,people follow traffic rules only to avoid challan,so when traffic police is away they play on roads.

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  6. I know the look :D That is to keep the sun out.

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  7. Very well written. Hope every one is fine...

    Rules - are here to be broken only, if you have more money, then you need not worry. Thats the attitude.

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  8. Very well written sir! And yes, even I used to have this look....totally covered...wish for everyone's safety.

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  9. Get well soon sir. I know exactly what you are talking about. I go through that every day in Chennai. Obeying traffic rules is the worst thing you can do in traffic. Every time i try to stop for yellow signal there is always some guy behind my back shout not to stop.

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  10. hahahaha !! Sir you are amazing .. hahaha..the police may have to call you for the face recognition :D :D hahaha..
    throughout India the one who stops by his car is at the receiving end :)
    The one who apologizes in India is taken for a ride :D You did good by shouting back at the lady :)

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  11. The most normal thing about us is our striking sense of irresponsibility which stems from our lack of understanding of others. As for the rude rules, we do not seem to give a damn about it as we are in a tearing hurry. The personal experience that you have shared is one of how one conforming to a set of road safety rules will have to be ready to pay the price as people out on the road tend to be listless and savage. A thought provoking post written in an interesting manner.

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  12. By the grace of Almighty you are safe.
    "May Allâh reward you [with] goodness."

    Rules and regulation is not strictly followed in our country .
    Rulers do the same thing. They want to take care for them but do not care for others.

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  13. Zara hat ke, Zara Bach ke, yeh hai India meri Jaan. . . :)

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  14. nice write sir............ hope all is well

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  15. Finding the biker will be almost impossible........ Thank God!!! It could be worse.........


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  16. This is what happens on roads every where in India. Thank God it was only a cyclist who did it!

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  17. I like how u r still hoping the police will track down the lady. :D
    So sorry about the accident though.
    A scratch on my car is like a scratch on my heart.

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  18. Easwar Sir, there's a Liebster for you here: http://solitarytravels.blogspot.in/2013/08/my-first-liebster-award.html
    :)

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  19. An accident is an accident and thank God it was a two wheeler and not a four wheeler. Easwaranji, its true that road rules, ethics etc etc are not followed. However, the human tendency is to break any rule or regulation as long as he's not punished. Whether it is road rules, health and hygiene, civic rules or any laws. As long as the makers of these rules do not strictly follow and keep away from corruption, people will always try to take advantage of the loopholes. Does anyone dare to break rules in Singapore? Because there are hefty fines and punishment. As long as the teacher is busy with her novel or mobile, the students will have a good time.

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  20. Hope you are safe and fine now. Sometimes this happens and only those who are hurt knows the pain. There is no systematic planning of our road system which could have avoided many such cases and I say so because with rise in vehicle users, there must be a way for safe travelling too

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  21. Sir,hoping you are safe by God's grace...missed you you a lot...!

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  22. Very well and aptly written indeed. Enjoyed it completely.

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  23. Very nice post.. Enjoyed reading.

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  24. haha.. that was one lovely read, as usual. well thank god, you are safe. :)

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  25. I too have seen people breaking all traffic rules-i think there should be snippets on TV ,TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO BEHAVE.

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  26. Glad you are safe sir. Crazy motorcyclists are the bane of 'safe' drivers all over the country.

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  27. Hey I have nominated you for the liebster award at my blog! http://ishakhanna.blogspot.in/2013/11/my-first-liebster-award.html

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  28. beautiful blog...keep in touch...plz join my blog
    http://9shonalimukherji9.blogspot.in/

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  29. haha! aptly written I enjoyed reading it. Glad that you are safe.

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  30. Be safe. There are a lot of crazy people driving on the road.. As long as we are alert and safe things can be fine to a certain extent

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