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Traffic Signal

Today a long half hour at the pipeline signal and having a position somewhere at the end of a very long queue of impatient honking vehicles made my mind rush to the statement made by a sane stranger, though then he wasn't looking so sane to me.

It happened long back, may be eons back and I am not even sure this is what really happened, but this is close to what I can remember.

I was on the way to my office in a bus. I did see a man (usual careless glance) who was sitting to the left where I was standing. I didn't give him much attention.

All of a sudden he asked me.

Njan oru chodyam chodikkatte ???

Lot many things went across my mind. I might have accidentally hit his head when the bus braked. While I was contemplating the possibility of facing a  humiliation before all the passengers he asked me,

Signal palikkatthe nammal poyal entha fine ennu ariyamo ??

What!!!  Enthuva??

May be the question came out all wrong, that wasn’t what he was intending to ask. I was hoping that he might change his question and give me a relatively easy one to answer.
I gave him a questioning gaze.

Signal palikkatthe nammal poyal entha fine ennu ariyamo ??

This time it was out loud. All of the passengers where looking from man to me, me to man, to and fro.  

He looked around and extended the question to all the others. By that time I made a skillful escape from the podium and vanished into the crowd and stood there as a spectator.


Every one in the bus stood there observing him but didn’t dare to respond. An elderly gentleman who was sitting silent till then couldn’t hold it anymore and replied

“Rules are rules we are supposed to follow that.”

Vadi koduthu adi vangal, I can’t put it any better than that. Everyone watched the elderly gentleman getting slaughtered with a reaction mixed with some sympathy and with more than a little enthusiasm I must say. But no one was brave enough to offer any help.

 Then he started giving lectures on problems faced by people due to traffic jam.  There was something about the way he talked, something different from normal; he lectured more to himself and than to others. He was putting forward questions and giving answers himself. In his own way he was emphasizing the uselessness of such a system and ardent need to break it. He went on and on for a while, I had to get down at my stop and I love to believe he might have continued doing the same.

He was more a laughing stock to me then or just a part of an incident which I thought to write down somewhere or even blog. And I must admit he was making more than a valid statement. Now when I think about it I feel there is more to that incident than just his craziness. He might have lost his precious time somewhere in the past before a signal and might be in search for it even now....who knows.. He was just  another commoner who was questioning a totally self absorbed world that is content with whatever it is offered. Moreover it considers them an outcast or even declares them mad. 

I don't remember how he looked nor do I remember his voice but something  remains that always makes its presence felt when the signal turns red.

Note : Image Courtesy http://jerrin-it.blogspot.com/2011/06/tale-of-cawnporia-traffic-signal.html
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Comments

  1. Mr RoSeptember 29, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    Signal pallikathe poyal enthu sambavikum ennu ngan ormpikanno? pipeline! trailer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nom@dSeptember 29, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    ormipikkalle ormipikkalle!! ayyo aa trailer...

    ReplyDelete
  3. HashimOctober 1, 2011 at 1:00 AM

    people are willing to accept whatever thrown at them; nobody want to raise an eyebrow and risk his pipe-dream of living a peaceful and normal life.

    ReplyDelete

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നിശബ്ദത

                        മുത്തശ്ശൻ ക്ലോക്കിൽ മണി പന്ത്രണ്ട് അടിച്ചു. മഴ പെയ്തു ഒഴിഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഇറ്റു വീഴുന്ന വെള്ളതുള്ളികളും ഇടയ്ക്കുള്ള ചീവീടിന്റെ ശബ്ദവും ഒഴിച്ചാൽ ചുറ്റിലും എങ്ങും നിശബ്ദത. എല്ലാവരും ഉറങ്ങി തുടങ്ങി.   ഒരാൾ മാത്രം ഉറക്കമൊഴിച്ച് കാത്തിരിപ്പുണ്ട്. പൂർണ്ണമായ നിശബ്ദതക്കു വേണ്ടി. ഇന്നത്തെ ജോലി അതീവ ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ ചെയ്യേണ്ടത് ആണ്, അതിനു പരിപൂർണ്ണ നിശബ്ദത അയാള്ക്കു ആവശ്യമുണ്ടു. ശബ്ദം ഉണ്ടാക്കാതെ അയാൾ കുറച്ചു കൂടെ കാത്തിരുന്നു. പതിയെ ചീവിടുകളും ഉറക്കത്തിലായെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു.  ഒരു ശബ്ദവും കേൾക്കാനില്ല. സന്തോഷത്തോടെ അയാൾ എഴുന്നേറ്റു. തന്റെ പക്കലുള്ള ചെറിയ വെട്ടം അയാൾ തെളിയിച്ചു, ചുറ്റിലും നോക്കി. ഇല്ല അപകടം ഒന്നും ഇല്ല. കാലത്തു നോക്കി വച്ചിരുന്ന വീടിനടുത്തേക്ക് അയാൾ പതിയെ ചെന്നു. പതുങ്ങി ഇരുന്നു കുറച്ചു നേരം അയാൾ  കാതോർത്തു. ശബ്ദമൊന്നും കേൾക്കുന്നില്ല. എല്ലാവരും നല്ല ഉറക്കത്തിലാണ്. ജനവാതിൽ തുറന്നു നേരത്തെ ഇളക്കി മാറ്റിയിരുന്ന ജനൽ കമ്പികളുടെ വിടവിലൂടെ ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ അയാൾ അകത്തു കടന്നു. ഇരുണ്ട വെട്ടത്തിൽ അലമാര ഇരിക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലം ലക്ഷ്യമാക്കി പമ്മി പമ്മി അയാൾ നടന്നു. ഇനിയാണ് ശ്രദ്ധ വേണ്ടത്.
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