It was around 8:30 p.m. I was going back home in my office shuttle. I was engrossed with my new mobile phone’s features. The shuttle stopped in a traffic signal. Few buses and lots of bikes waiting for the signal. A traffic policeman came closer to an Activa, took the keys, rattled it in front of the scooter owner and signaled him to come aside. I was shocked at the way the policeman behaved. I wanted to take a video of the policeman asking for bribe(Of course, with my brand new mobile 
). To my dismay, a KSRTC bus came in between and hid the entire scene from my eyes. No, from my mobile phone camera. My blog would have been another tehelka.com if I had captured that video 
24 Feb 2008, It was around 11:30 a.m. I was going back home on a Sunday in Hosur Road. Traffic jam on the way. A three road signal blocked by vehicles coming from all sides. Banker’s algorithm will not help in clearing this deadlock. May be common sense will. (I still remember OS fundas I studied in College!!). All of a sudden, one guy got down from his car and started hitting another guy who was on a TVS 50. The car driver tore the other man’s shirt, hit him badly and pushed his TVS 50 down with a bang. All for the sake of a scratch on his new car. Doesn’t he realize he doesn’t have any right to even touch the other person’s vehicle, if he’s worried about a scratch in his car? The TVS 50 guy tried to resist but someone in the crowd convinced him to leave the place immediately. I could read his face. He was very self conscious when he left the place. His TVS 50 didn’t start properly.
I do not know how I’ll react if I was in the Activa guy’s situation. It depends upon the urgency I’m in to decide if I should bribe or not. But in the second case, what would I do if I were the TVS 50 guy? Will I call the police and complain? When there’s no traffic policeman there, to whom will I complain? Probably, what if the traffic policeman demands for a bribe taking away my keys? Will anyone from the crowd come as a witness if I file a suit against the car driver? May be I will break all his car glasses for damaging my vehicle. Tit for Tat. That will satisfy my ego. I wish the TVS 50 guy had done this.
A common way to start a conversation with a stranger is inquiring about health or weather. If you stay in Bangalore, here’s one more topic to begin a conversation. Traffic.
Who do we blame for this insensitive traffic?
(a) Attitude of drivers (b) Traffic Policemen (c) Government authorities
I’m sure any citizen of Bangalore would say All the above. A few examples of the eccentricities of these classes are:
- The ultra smart decision from the authorities to occupy half of MG road for Metro Rail Project.
- Traffic Policemen who thrive on bribe
- Drivers who fight in the middle of the road.
- Drivers who have forgotten there is a horn in their vehicles.
I leave it to you to discuss the rest with the next stranger you meet.
