And the City Stopped Moving

Photo: Prabir Das

Last week was a confusing one. On one side, we were trying to pay respect to the elders, to the rulers and to tradition. On the other end, we were all stuck on the roads, trying to do just that! To add to it all, kids were stuck trying to go to school, university students trying to get their last minute projects done and the daily working people making an effort to reach office on time.

The view from the 7th floor window was a magnificent one, however.  As we sipped our teas, standing arrogantly by the window, secretly enjoying the fact that some of us actually managed to reach our offices (a little late, though), we couldn't help but wonder at the beauty of the scene below. Trails of vehicles seemed to be stuck together with glue; there were no specific patterns though – a truck followed by a Mercedes, an unmovable bike, trying to get past a Toyota Corolla (probably an Uber), ambulances, finally going silent (wonder if the patients had gone silent as well! Dear God!) and of course covered vans, buses and CNG run autorickshaws – the world below was filled with rainbow colours of all shapes and sizes!

Somewhere in another corner of the city, a group of youngsters enjoyed and celebrated. They were dancing to Hindi classics, screaming out gibberish and simply enjoying life. One wanted eagerly to be a part of the singing and the dancing groups! Legend says that these youngsters possess a magic wand and for generations, this magic wand was used for the 'good' for the society (some if not all). On that particular day, the wand was used to stop the city in motion, to stop the people from commuting and to stop the vehicles 

from moving.

It's still the beginning of a New Year. Let's hope for the best.