Traffic

There's a long queue of vehicles at one of the city’s busiest intersections, impatiently waiting for the green. A little girl peeks out of a white car, and excitedly points out a poster to her mother. The father is tapping the steering wheel distractedly, lost in his own thoughts. A ripple of engines revving up passes through the line, and honks fill the air. “Onward! Onward!” seems to be the battle-cry.

Just as the white car begins to move, a copper-hued Toyota Qualis beast swerves dangerously into its path from the right, and forces its way onto the road. The father is furious, pressing his horn loud and long, shaking his fist at the errant driver. The mother is shaken, clutching onto her precious little one, and yelling at the driver ahead. The Qualis driver zooms ahead, still driving rashly; the father suddenly decides to give chase, and begins tailing the Qualis. The Qualis is a taxi, and the father tries to note down the number so that he can complain.

The Qualis suddenly turns left into an MNC building and disappears. The father, not to be deterred, swings right behind, and is stopped by security. He explains angrily that he wants to speak to the authorities regarding the dangerous driver. The security guard, sensing the futility of stopping the enraged father, waves him along. Further down the parking lot, there are rows of Toyota Qualis parked, with their drivers idling within, fanning themselves cool in the heat.

The father parks the car, and walks towards a uniformed security guard in the vicinity. They speak for a few moments, and then the mother watches them disappear behind a row of cars. The little girl, perhaps sensing the mother’s anxiety, quietly sucks her thumb. The mother sees the other drivers begin to get out of their cars and make their way to the same spot. Though her instinct tells her that everything will be alright, her hyperactive imagination decides to turn the scenario into a Bollywood dishum-dishum scene. She waits for her husband to return, trying meanwhile to admire the hibiscus jiving in the hint of a breeze.

After what seems like an eternity, she sees her husband emerge, still engaged in furious discussion. He gets into the car and slams the door shut.

“What happened?” she asks.

“What else? The guy refuses to admit he made a mistake. Says he overtook from the right since there was a gap!”

“Did you tell him that you had a child in your car?”

“Yes, I told him, but as if he cares!”

“Did he apologize at all?”

“Yes, finally he said, sorry sir. Anyway nothing happened, why are you so worked up, sir, they ask! What fellows!”

The father starts the engine, and then says with an unexpected smile, “But you know what? I’m glad I chased the guy down. Normally, I would have let it go, but I’m glad I went and confronted him. It might not make a difference finally, but at least I got it out of my system!”

I look at DH and smile, lil D smiles at both of us, and we happily (and safely) make our way home.