Traffic Lights

This past evening, I was home and getting ready for my gym session. In no time weather changed, it became dark and clouds with diarrhoea did their thing. As it settled, I was on my way to get stuck at 27/28 traffic lights. There was no power and traffic was at a halt, thanks to the common sense of our people.

I thought this would be something to observe and observe I did. Got in line and just moved as other vehicles moved, only to reach in front where I stopped still - by choice. There was no point getting into the middle of intersection and make a fool of myself. I must admit however, that twice I saw window of opportunity where I might have made it, but what was the hurry. The sentiment obviously was not shared by more than many involved at that point in time; henceforth the observation.

There were the ego kinds. The ones who would not move their car because it would hurt pride to retract - instead they jostled others to find an alternate way. The aggressive kinds with maneuvers of pick up and hard braking, as if the jam was non-existent for them. The foolish kinds who would just get into middle and start smiling at helplessness of the situation - but in middle of the intersection. Every now and then one or two gentlemen would appear to direct traffic for a while, but once they could pass their own vehicle, they vanished. It was after good 15 minutes, that I heard a whistle. A constable in Khakhis made his presence immediately known and made way for all in negligible time. Leaving the traffic lights, I started thinking.

It had to be a man in Khakhis - a representative of law - just like a class monitor - for all people stuck in jam, to wait a while whilst keeping their ego/urgency/reasons behind for a common good. It did not happen on its own. We had to see that uniform and then only did it make sense to us that we should act responsibly. In absence of that uniform it was total chaos, just like a classroom of hoodlums without a teacher. Deduction - we have grown to be obey'ers/duds. We obey the master, the authority but ourselves - as individuals, we are not taught to follow our own light and become responsible for ourselves and our surroundings. It is not inculcated in us or if I may say, we do not want to nurture within us that sense of responsibility for a larger good. Blame the God, blame the Government and keep self in denial. And then this very lot of so called mature people, who are in hurry to be somewhere, irrespective of their basic conduct teach their very kids in their very homes to be responsible! Going by the adage that children do not learn from what you say, but what you do - how the coming generation fares is anybody's guess, although we do have an idea where it is headed.

Not sounding pessimistic - just an observation.