A Celebration Amidst Chaos...
September 2nd 2008 - One day before Ganesh Mahotsav.
I left for home from my office in Kalyani Nagar, at 8:30 in the night. I had a couple of calls and sms from my friends, all telling me about the heavy downpour that had lashed Pune in the evening. My judgement told me to wait until the rains stopped and so I did. Pune had recorded half the amount of rain it had received in the entire month of August, in just 3 hours of rain that evening. Not surprisingly, the drainage system for the roads was full beyond capacity and as a result, in just 5 minutes of driving my bike, I found myself on the highway, stuck in an impossibly long traffic jam, with water upto knee level.
With blaring horns, jam packed vehicles, angry stares, confused pedestrians and loads of abuses being hurled at anything and everything around, I didn't need a dictionary to understand the meaning of the word - "CHAOS". And it didn't take much time for me either, to join it. A rickshaw walla stretched his liberties a bit too far, and ended up just about hitting my bike from behind. I felt, he did deserve a few words of gratitude from me, but I let him be. I had something worse to worry about. It was already an hour since I moved an inch. Eight hours since lunch, and I was feeling more hungry and impatient by the second. The situation was seemingly hopeless and there was hardly anything I could do, except observing the "chosen ones" undergoing the same ordeal as me.
Just then, my eyes fell on the other side of road, where I happened to see this guy walking with his kid, together holding a beautiful Ganesh idol and shouting "Ganpati Bappa Moryaa" in unison. I couldn't help but notice the look of satisfaction on their faces. A rare sight considering the expressions on the faces around me. It didn't matter to the kid or his father, that they were trying to find their way through something, which could be the "worst traffic jam in Pune's history" (as my fellow commuter claimed it to be). Walking without an umbrella, they were completely soaked in the rain; yet the joy of carrying "Bappa" to their home was one, which could not be dampened by any hurdle in their way. It was a celebration in the midst of chaos. For the first time in the last hour, I smiled...
I realized that the frustration I held, was not at all dependent on the situation I was in. Perhaps I chose to be that way, at that moment. Most importantly, the choice was with me all the time. Life was a celebration all along - for the last two hours too. And I never realized, I could have joined it anytime...
From that second and for the next 1 hour, there I was - at the same place where I had been frustrated and cursing my fate a few minutes ago. Sporting a smile, singing my favourite song and striking a rhythm on the fuel tank of my bike, I had joined the party.
I felt the same joy within me, which the kid and his father on the other side of the road had experienced. With a few more of my favourite songs loaded in my mind, I wondered if the traffic jam could last a bit longer...
I left for home from my office in Kalyani Nagar, at 8:30 in the night. I had a couple of calls and sms from my friends, all telling me about the heavy downpour that had lashed Pune in the evening. My judgement told me to wait until the rains stopped and so I did. Pune had recorded half the amount of rain it had received in the entire month of August, in just 3 hours of rain that evening. Not surprisingly, the drainage system for the roads was full beyond capacity and as a result, in just 5 minutes of driving my bike, I found myself on the highway, stuck in an impossibly long traffic jam, with water upto knee level.
With blaring horns, jam packed vehicles, angry stares, confused pedestrians and loads of abuses being hurled at anything and everything around, I didn't need a dictionary to understand the meaning of the word - "CHAOS". And it didn't take much time for me either, to join it. A rickshaw walla stretched his liberties a bit too far, and ended up just about hitting my bike from behind. I felt, he did deserve a few words of gratitude from me, but I let him be. I had something worse to worry about. It was already an hour since I moved an inch. Eight hours since lunch, and I was feeling more hungry and impatient by the second. The situation was seemingly hopeless and there was hardly anything I could do, except observing the "chosen ones" undergoing the same ordeal as me.
Just then, my eyes fell on the other side of road, where I happened to see this guy walking with his kid, together holding a beautiful Ganesh idol and shouting "Ganpati Bappa Moryaa" in unison. I couldn't help but notice the look of satisfaction on their faces. A rare sight considering the expressions on the faces around me. It didn't matter to the kid or his father, that they were trying to find their way through something, which could be the "worst traffic jam in Pune's history" (as my fellow commuter claimed it to be). Walking without an umbrella, they were completely soaked in the rain; yet the joy of carrying "Bappa" to their home was one, which could not be dampened by any hurdle in their way. It was a celebration in the midst of chaos. For the first time in the last hour, I smiled...
I realized that the frustration I held, was not at all dependent on the situation I was in. Perhaps I chose to be that way, at that moment. Most importantly, the choice was with me all the time. Life was a celebration all along - for the last two hours too. And I never realized, I could have joined it anytime...
From that second and for the next 1 hour, there I was - at the same place where I had been frustrated and cursing my fate a few minutes ago. Sporting a smile, singing my favourite song and striking a rhythm on the fuel tank of my bike, I had joined the party.
I felt the same joy within me, which the kid and his father on the other side of the road had experienced. With a few more of my favourite songs loaded in my mind, I wondered if the traffic jam could last a bit longer...
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