Does an Engineering degree guarantee you a “traffic sense”?

After the day’s tiring work, all of us would like to reach home, as early as possible, to relax and get prepared for the following grueling day. It is quite expected that we will always be trying our bit, be it jumping the red signal or sneaking in the lane from wrong side, to reach our homes 5 minutes early. In fact this has become a way of life for us, and we never realize anything unusual in this. But a recent incident made me realize that this “usual” thing is somehow responsible for all of us reaching “unusually” late at times.
I have got stuck in traffic jams many a times, and it was my long wish to see the “reason” of jam. I think it won’t be as boring as being stuck in the traffic jam. So one day, I had this opportunity to see the “traffic jam” happening in front of my eyes.
I was noticing a big expensive car (which could be easily a limousine for Indian roads), standing parallel to my bus, with a techie driving it (well, the car had a sticker of a famous MNC stuck on his windshield). And in all probable conditions he was in a better ambience than most of the people in stranded vehicles around him. It was a two way road, with no barrier to mark the separation. The traffic was being maneuvered by a traffic police-man, and we were made to stand for some 15minutes, which was agreeably frustrating. The opposite lane was almost vacant and quite tempting for any motorist to zoom and reach ahead of all. But as the usual traffic sense would have demanded, every driver restrained from that temptation, only to make sure that s/he doesn’t block the expected traffic in the opposite direction.
But this “Indian Limo” techie, mostly bitten by the bug of “innovation and thinking out of the box”, steered his driving wheel and got into the opposite lane. I could hear an illiterate auto rickshaw driver murmuring in the local language, which was beyond my comprehension. Probably he was giving words to my thoughts.
It was poser for me, as to what would have prompted the person behind the Limo wheels to do this. To me it seemed that it was total defiance of the basic logical thinking, which even a toddler could have reasoned.
The driver behind Limo was quick to take his place and so were the following drivers. Now the Limo was starkly in the vacant lane and the traffic jam was inevitable. Soon we had a big TATA lorry coming in the opposite direction and a helpless techie blocking its way. A usual argument followed, where techie was obviously fighting a loosing battle, and the vehicles kept on piling behind the TATA lorry, which resulted in a massive traffic jam.
I am sure if I had not witnessed it, probably I would have been cursing the deplorable roads of Bangalore and the inept Traffic Police.
But next time I get caught in Traffic Jam, I will surely think twice before holding someone the architect of Traffic Jam. Probably with a little patience, we can make traveling a better experience for us and for others too…

The Perfect Kill -Denis R. Soreng

"I received the following piece of literature and thought of sharing it with everyone. One of the few literatures which halted my brain cells (although for a fraction of a second)"

It was late in the evening when I entered Howrah Station .It was teeming with office workers returning home after a typically tiring day at work. I didn't look forward to the prospect of returning home to my husband. The love between us had died years ago. Our marriage had been transformed into a dead corpse buried deep beneath a pile of painful memories. The bits and pieces of pleasure I derived from my daily existence were my only source of sustenance. My husband had accused me of being mentally deranged. But only I know better. He should have thought of a better reason than that to get rid of me. I hauled my self into a train standing nearby. Finding a seat lying vacant I gleefully slid into it. After having exhausted myself at work securing a place to ease my legs was a welcome relief. The scene inside the train was disquieting. The train being the last one on that particular route, it wasn't long before the compartment was bursting to the full with people. They jostled and fought with each other in a desperate attempt to keep from falling off. June is the hottest month in Kolkata; it's when the when the summers are at the peak of their torment. The sweltering heat conspired with the intolerable humidity to beat the lives out of the commuters. The stench from the garbage rotting on the rail tracks combined with the nauseating smell of human sweat to pervade the whole atmosphere. I felt like vomiting. I subconsciously swallowed the spittle that formed in my throat. In despair, I stared up at the ceiling for comfort. A solitary fan hung up there in a state of eternal rest, hideously shrouded in spider webs. I closed my eyes in a bid to rest my mind. Slowly I allowed myself to fall into a labored slumber. When I awoke the train had traveled far into the countryside. The seat next to mine was occupied by a pretty nymphet. She had a concerned look on her face. The object of her anxiety was seated right opposite to us. He was the most loathsome, horrid specimen of mankind I had ever seen. He evidently appeared to be a village goon of some reputation. His bloodshot eyes were planted firmly on the girl. She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat under his leering looks. The redness of his eyes was indicative of the fact that he had soaked himself in liquor far exceeding socially acceptable limits. The girl's nervousness was infectious. I looked around the compartment. It was completely vacant except for the three of us. I began to grow uneasy. The girl pressed my hand and held up a piece of newspaper for my inspection. She pointed towards a front-page news report. It was on a sensational serial killer who had been haunting Kolkatans for the past couple of weeks. Six young girls had been murdered in different parts of the city. They were discovered with their throats brutally slit open. The killings had been executed with such meticulous efficiency that the murder scenes were totally devoid of any clues. The police were baffled. The report went on to draw parallels with the legendary 'Stoneman' who had terrorized Calcutta in early the 90's and whose identity was yet to be ascertained. The report was undeniably scary and chilling to the bone. The girl had visibly paled. She motioned with her eyes indicating to me that she considered the man sitting opposite to be a prime suspect. The girl was badly scared and I must admit I was pretty worried myself. Suddenly the train slowed as it approached an oncoming station. I was contemplating the feasibility of getting off the train, well before my intended destination, when the man himself stood up. To my utter surprise and immense joy he hopped off the train as it came to a screeching halt. The girl looked at me and both of us let out a huge sigh of relief. The tension having been released, she began to giggle. I caught up with her silly laughter and soon both of us were laughing away in abandon. With a rude jerk the train started moving. Soon it was speeding across vast open countryside at a furious pace. Her jangled nerves having been calmed, the girl had begun to doze in her seat. As I looked at her I wondered just how naïve and unsuspecting young girls can be. I slipped my hand inside my handbag and firmly gripped the kitchen knife I always carried. I felt a strange numbness in my fingers but it had to be done. Besides she had an exceedingly beautiful neck. Such a pity!

Om Shanti Om !!!

The other day I went out with my friends to watch this much hyped movie called OM SHANTI OM; OSO henceforth. I had seen the promos of this movie and the movie looked quite promising. But after watching the movie, I was puzzled. I felt as if the movie had squeezed my ability to reason. I didn’t know whether I should pity myself or the director of movie who made such a movie. Well, for those who have weak memory like me, I would like to mention here that OSO is directed by same person, dare I not say FARAH KHAN, who gave us MAIN HOON NA, where a human riding a cycle rickshaw had managed to chase a SCORPIO. (I am sure the designers of Mahindra SCORPIO must be admitted to NIMHANS after watching that scene and must be surviving on tranquilizers.) Throughout the movie I was wondering if most of the scenes, if not all, were decided on the basis of lucky draw, whose wheel was probably spun by Gauri Khan, the producer of the movie.The pathetic and atrocious story line of the movie can be well judged in the first half an hour of the movie, where, the lead actress gets stuck in a fire, and our all daring hero just walks through the fire, lifts the lady and walks back, as if he is lifting a new born baby from a cradle and putting on a bed. I mean, at least Farah Khan should have realized that Indian audience is matured enough to make a mockery of this scene. And this scene is supposed to ignite the fire of passion in two souls. [God damn, I just wanted to scream “HELP ME” after this scene]. And the other scene worth mentioning is where the camera is focused on the mouth (pl note, I am saying mouth and not lips) of Deepika Pudukone, while she is shouting OMMMMMMMM….. I don’t understand what our director wanted to portray in the scene. May be the depth of Deepika’s love for SRK is proportional to the duration for which OMis chanted.And the reincarnation had gone a step further with OSO. Till now Bollowood directors would remind hero about his past life with an accidental stroke on his head, but here in OSO, we have a small firework reminding King Khan about his previous life. And point to me noted here is that, SRK does not get a vague idea about his previous life, but the whole life is played back, and he remembers all his previously said statements, word by word. And to my surprise we have a double trouble in OSO. Deepika Pudukone, who dies with SRK in previous “janam”, also has reincarnation. Fortunately, there is no flash back for her. She is just reincarnated as a “SEXY and HOT” namma Banguluru girl. [And almighty one more request, Pl don’t give us a reincarnation for FARAH KHAN].The only thing which I liked in the movie is a guest appearance of Akashay Kumar, which actually made me burst out with laughter. It’s more of a situational comedy and kind of difficult to articulate.