The Journey

Sometimes a simple dialogue like “Life is a race..  ” stands so true. But in this rat race people often miss the small things that teach us more valuable and important lessons. I’ll share one such anecdote. Recently I went to Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi for some work and I being totally jobless (I left the earphones at home!), started noticing the elements in my journey and to my surprise I learnt so much. First thing I noticed was how Life follows the “Murphy’s Law” at every step. I started late; hence I was rushing and waited for the auto which would take me to the nearest metro station. But as the law states, “the frequency of the availability of Autos at a particular time is inversely proportional to the exigency of your work” so, I had to wait for the auto for more than 20 minutes which otherwise comes at an interval of 3-4 minutes. Finally one auto showed up. But the Murphy ’s Law continued. Certain routes were diverted as some minister was scheduled to come through the same routes and the hoi polloi had to suffer for one man. Even the ambulances were not allowed. How lame.  A person sharing the auto yelled at the auto driver, “Drive faster, I’m already late”; the person sitting next to him starts supporting him, abusing and calling the ministers the “good- for-nothing” people. Within seconds discussions started and extended to the passing of the Jan Lokpal bill. Heights of Digression! The driver replied politely, “sahab, you should have started early, this happens. At least the roads are now cleaned and stitched (with tar coal) just because he’s (the minister) visiting the city “. I learnt how positive and phlegmatic some people are, and how some people are always backing up causes, whether it matters to them or not. Soon after travelling along the circumference (an extra 6-7km) instead of the diametric path, we reached the destination, but the driver charged the same amount as he was otherwise supposed to. The riled up customers now smiled. I learnt how Money Matters! The driver smiled back. I paid and rushed to board the train. The train showed up 5 minutes late due to some technical glitch. As soon as the train arrived and the gates opened, the jostling crowd rushed for a seat pushing and elbowing anyone who came in their way. I too caught in the mob rushed and grabbed a seat. Just when the doors were about to shut I saw a diffident girl drag her torn slipper and get inside the train just seconds before the doors collided. Her sister and mother got in before her. The sisters looked alike, twins probably. The other sister was pulling her leg as she tried her best to fix the slipper. The mother gently scolded the one who was deriding and selflessly gave away her sandals to her daughter and took the torn ones in her hand and stayed bare-foot. Mothers are the real beauty, I learned. The girl was embarrassed but wore her mother’s sandal along with a sheepish smile. All this time, the train moved at snail’s pace, all hail Murphy! Finally, my stop came, I ran towards the escalators, and a thought floated in my head that how our life is similar to the escalators, we are born, we grow up and die just to be born again. Eventually I got late for my work but I was happy I noticed the worth-noticing life. Life is beautifully strange, Carpe diem!!