There are so many kutti kutti situations that I experience on the road.. Some give a smile.. some lends food for thought.. some are grrrr moments.. and some more..
Un pour la rue (one for the road).. I am in the mood for a little French.. every situation will be numbered in French..
Un – As I was going thru a tucked away lane, I saw a mama who must be in his 70’s or 80’s standing near a tree which was receiving much sunlight. It was a nip in the air morning and mama had his shawl and beanie on, to give him warmth from the chillness. He stood under the sunlight and kept turning from one side to another and also lifted his face to the sun for a little while. It was then I realised that he was taking in his quota of Vitamin D. It was such a lovely sight to see and go past. Couldn’t stop myself from smiling!!
Deux – An evening walk near my home and I am stopped by two youngsters. They asked me if I was staying closeby and when I replied in the affirmative, they told me that they had opened a breakfast place. The first week was a complimentary offer and we could come on any day. They were very sketchy in what this breakfast place was all about. But what they pitched, sounded interesting – we don’t give idli, vada, pongal etc, it is based on vegetables and fruits and completely focusing on health. They carried a small chit with their number and name pre-printed with no name of the breakfast place. The only commitment given was that the location would be sent the next day. I was of the opinion that these two were young entrepreneurs and complimentary or not, it would be good to encourage them. Generally a person not to share my mobile number, it was so random of me to share it. Seriously, complimentary breakfast and a different one at that; hard to refuse!! My experience at the place left me with a grrr feeling.. Marketing pitches aren’t always to be fallen for!!
Trois – People who drive in the wrong direction consciously and wilfully think they are in the right – I mean they think they are right :-). As I drove thru the green light a traffic signal, I am obstructed by a car that was taking a right turn that wasn’t allowed. Me taking a bold decision, kept inching forward, as I had the right way first. Looks like he was hopping mad at me :-). He rolled down his shutters and showed his MF (the image below should indicate what MF is :-). I muttered to myself with the glass all rolled up, “hey buddy, you are in the wrong direction. If anyone has to swear it has to be me. But anyway. wish you the same.” Not a battle I wanted to pick, right in the middle of a traffic signal..
Quatre – It can be really annoying, when you are on a walk on the pavement and there are bikers also driving on the pavement; and the walker is expected to step aside. Wonder who has the first right to the pavement!! This time the gentleman who was riding the vehicle had a toddler with him, sitting in the front. What better opportunity can this ‘gyaner’ in me have!! I stood in front of the bike and asked the rider if this toddler was his child. When he said yes, I asked him what is it that he is teaching his child – that breaking rules is ok? that riding on the footpath that is meant for walkers is the right thing to do? What happens if the walker is an old person and loses their balance when encountered by the bike? The rider looked at me sheepishly, said sorry and moved on in the pavement. Someone else on a bike, who was about to get in the pavement, hearing this, decided to ride on the road 😀.. Well, I did what was in my control!!
Cinq – When I was parking in the narrow lanes of a locality, here was this young girl less that 10 years of age. She saw my husband sitting in the passenger seat and me parking. She kept looking at me and smiling. At one point, she stood near the car, and continued to look. Reminded us of the time when I was driving thru a lane in a small town in Tamil Nadu. We stopped at a tea shop for a tea break. A young lad who saw us, quickly ran and called a whole horde of people. One lady from the bunch started making tea, while the others (both men and women) just stood there looking at my husband and also me – it was like a tennis volley of looks.. We thought that they must have been thinking, how strange it was for a man to sit in the passenger seat while the woman drove. Or on the positive side, someone in the bunch or the 10 year old girl may get inspired and do things that they hitherto didn’t do. The ever optimist in me!!! 🙂
Six – Saving the best for the last – Here was a dog of a smaller size, barking away to glory at people who passed by the house he was in. Heard the owner calling him ‘Airavata’ (the White Tusked Elephant of Lord Indra in the Mahabharata). With all my conversations with Mr. D behind me, I stood on the road and conversed with Airavata. The more I conversed, the more Airavata barked. The house owner was smiling hearing me talking and Airavata barking. Suddenly Airavata’s attention turned from me to someone behind me. When I looked back, I saw a big dog being taken for a walk. The small sized Airavata was barking at a big sized dog, who just ignored the bark and kept walking. I was in all admiration for Airavata who wasn’t fazed that it was a big dog that he / she was barking at. Airavata was barking because Airavata wanted to bark. The big dog walked as though he / she wanted to let the barking Airavata bark. Not a battle to he / she wanted to pick.. What a learning!! We do what we think we need to do, not look at who and how the other person is.
Be it a walk or a drive, there is so much to see, smile and learn.. Life is many a moment to cherish.
C’est la vie – such is life!!
Credits – To Deepa, a friend who teaches French, for giving me the French words for ‘one for the road’ when I was kind of toying on how to grammatically phrase it in French..
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