Mumbai — the city that never sleeps- suffers from the traffic jam disease as most metropolitans in the world. Stuck in one, I happened to look around and just observed, as I slowly lost to the frustration of participating in this daily chaos.
The first observation which triggered it all was a man who raced his car past mine only to meet again at the coming junction. As I peeked into his SUV, I saw that he gave his phone a quick glance, looked at the signal and let out a sigh! Then out of the blue, much like a flash mob would break into song and dance, he put on the radio and started singing and dancing as much as the seat belt allowed. The kind of fun that is pure contagious.
The second observation was a man and woman on a tiny two wheeler who looked rather uncomfortable. The man wore a helmet and looked straight ahead, still finding ways to manoeuvre his bike through the traffic, much like water in a stream slipping around the pebbles. The woman, on the other hand, was covered in bags and yet, she was engrossed in scrolling the miles on her phone. She found something funny and passed the phone for him to see it. They both watched intently and laughed on the rocking mode of transport.
Then, came that one thing in common. A reaction that still makes me wonder.
As the signal turned green, they were all slightly disappointed in the moment. It seemed as though the road clearing was an issue! Laugh as you may, but perhaps they all are taking a break from the hustle. It is necessary. It is an opportunity to take a moment in the busy everyday.
So, as funny and impossible as this is, maybe the next time you stop at a signal or get stuck in an unexpected jam, take that moment to breathe, think, sing, read, dance, plan or just observe.
P.S. Perhaps one could even sketch. As I don’t own the picture attached with this piece!
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