An incident which happened a while ago.

I was on my way to my semester end exams (which already means we have lots to look forward to. And it was some palkhi (palanquin) day or something, I don’t exactly recollect, but the road to the college was jam packed. As usual, the vehicles outnumbered the traffic regulators by a huge margin, and the latter were having a hard time coping up with all the mess. Now the college chowk (square) was a total confusion, because as luck would have been, the traffic signals weren’t working as well. So basically, it was the normal Pune traffic scenario.

Now there are two types of traffic police. Actually I have no idea whether this is how the system is everywhere, but I find it really hard to believe this. The ones in the white and khaki are the higher ones apparently, and they can give you a rough time, by fining you and looting you off your money etc on any pretext. So they have authoritative powers. The ones in blue however just carry a whistle. They can’t fine you, stop you, ask you for your license. I guess they are only for regulating the traffic. Or they are just amateurs learning the trade secrets. I don’t know what, but that day I saw how people take advantage of the lack of power. Or as we say in Marathi, ‘Mau laagla mhanun kopryaani khanala’ (Taking advantage just cause no ones saying anything).

The ‘blue’ traffic police had stopped one side of the road, and was allowing the others to continue, so that he jam could be solved. In the scene present, he was doing an awesome job keeping his cool in the hot sun and the heat of the traffic and the pollution. But some bus driver from the direction he was stopping had other plans. He stopped when told, but as soon as the blue guy turned his back to him, he started again. The blue guy heard that and blew a shrill sharp whistle. The bus driver didn’t budge and continued his climb up the flyover (there is a flyover just beyond the signal). The blue guy then lost it and went running alongside the bus, forgetting all about the traffic and started banging the bus from its side, calling out vague and totally unheard of swear words (which I think all mean the same apparently). The bus driver just looked out of his tall window, but still continued his slow steady climb. The blue guy then took off his shoe, and threw at the bus. It missed a window just by a margin. Then he took off his other shoe and threw it at the bus again. All this just because he didn’t have the power to stop the bus and fine the driver.

The funny thing to observe was that in all this time, not a single person moved in the other lanes. They were busy enjoying, commenting, laughing, giggling on the whole fun drama they saw. If only instead of signals we could have a one minute laugh video or something like that, all people would stop and not a single one would break the traffic signals…

Lack of power, or rather the knowledge that the other person doesn’t have power to hurt you makes you do stuff which you shouldn’t. Hence, its better we don’t start having this superiority thing inside of you, which makes you think you are better than the other, and just abide the rules and live peacefully and amicably as if all are equal. Equality in all its essence just states this I guess.