Monday, July 30, 2007

Fatality

I was hit by a car at the traffic lights of sector 20 a few days ago। Like a good citizen, I proudly stopped my wasp ‘behind’ the pre-zebra crossing line—I always do that and always feel good about following the traffic rules; apart from the fact the pollution-check certificate of my wasp expired months ago—I was waiting for the light to turn green when suddenly something happened। For a fraction of a second I was air-borne, my wasp took off without me and in another fraction of a second, came crashing down on my guitar। Lying stunned on the zebra crossing, I looked at my scoot that was resting on my guitar a few steps ahead of me—“Had Jesus returned” I thought to myself. Maybe he took me with him, but then just remembered something bad I’d done and threw me back. I sat there and gazed heavenwards for 3–4 seconds, not realizing that everyone around was staring at me. I was too stunned, to realize what had happened. Then I turned around and looked at a girl standing next to her car, she was shivering like a leaf and was continuously mumbling “I am so sorry.”
Oh! So it wasn’t as bad as I was thinking, I had just taken a hit on the rear by a woman driver, rather, she had driven into me; I was relieved. She helped me pick my wasp up, all the while she kept saying, “I’m so sorry.”
Then I realized that my brand new, hi-end acoustic guitar had taken a hit and that was it, I lost my temper. I roared at her “that is a very expensive guitar miss, you’d better wish its safe” as I took the guitar out of the cover. The guitar was badly grazed; thankfully it wasn’t broken and its neck was in place—good quality pays off. She kept saying “I’m so sorry” so many times that I couldn’t think of anything. The wasp’s clutch lever broke and the left shield got buffed by the road. Only one thought stopped me from letting my anger out—I’ve been teaching a friend how to drive lately, I wouldn’t want anyone to be nasty to her, if she were to be in the same situation. In anger and frustration, I could just utter these words in a very threatening tone with clenched teeth, “you better get lost from here” the message was conveyed. She obeyed and in a second, was nowhere in sight.
Onlookers stared at me—many of them in amazement—that I had let my assailant go so easily and quickly, without asking for any kind of compensation. I just picked my broken wasp, grazed guitar and a slightly grazed right arm and rode back home!
Today I got my scoot repaired and for a few hours, it performed like a hot knife slicing through butter…and then….the new clutch lever broke…I don’t know why…and my wound is going from bad to worse…it refuses to heal! Now I am really angry at that woman.

I just remembered a dialog I heard in the movie Titanic, “Women and machinery don’t mix।”…listen to the guy, he wasn’t joking!! At least quite a few of them don't.

1 comment:

Niha Redhu said...

well well well... as my screen saver also screams ... "SH*T HAPPENS"!!!
Accept it and strum along!! :D