It was yet another day of chugging back home from work, jostling thru the maze of people and vehicles in the evening Chennai traffic and bang – I heard a sudden bump on my car.
Not a surprise, cause seldom you see any vehicle on the road that is bruise less – if that can comfort you in any way!
The next moment, I see couple of guys smirking their way past my car and picking up speed in their 200cc bike. Not even a pause, not even any iota of concern for the damage they caused. Sure, I looked like an idiot to them, immobilized in my car and the traffic.
The dent on my ego and the inability to do anything but, fly-out some abuse made my blood pressure rise higher, than the physical damage to my vehicle and my wallet.
Welcome to the world of what I call ‘the 200cc culture’. These are the days of guys flaunting their shining bikes with alloy wheels and digital odometers, trying to zip across our roads, to mimic the stunt scenes played on those two-wheeler commercials. Of course, who cares for those tiniest of ‘do not try this at home‘ disclaimers, that are perhaps shown with the intention to make them not readable?
Remember the effervescent ‘Hamara Bajaj‘ jingle of the 80s? That is one of my favorites on those days when public broadcasting via the TV was limited only to the state run Doordarshan. As portrayed in the commercial, the two-wheeler was a pride possession for the family, with the dad trying to balance between a kid standing in the front, gleefully enjoying the breeze, the wife on the pillion and also at times another kid stuck between the mom and dad!
There are multiple versions of that jingle.
The one I like the most, is the one where style is put in contrast to respect for human dignity. A youth pausing his bike for a moment to utter a prayer to a street corner Ganesha idol, couple of youth in their bikes twirling across to not disturb a colorful rangoli on the street, a guy seeking forgiveness the moment his foot touches a fellow biker.
Unique Indianess, Elegance and Human Values, shown coexisting beautifully. Isn’t that life after all, in a civilized society?
These are the times of a fast paced world, a country that appears to be outpacing the rest of the globe in GDP numbers and claiming improved economic and living conditions for its citizens.
If Vespa, Lamby and Chetak were the ones to don the roads couple of decades back, it is the time for a Pulsar, Flame, Wind, Storm, and Hunk. Names – very much synonymous with the time and the highflying youth of our times, yet caught in the harsh reality to coexist peacefully with a huge mass of people.
Two decades later, how far we have come and how much has life changed and in this transformation, where did we lose sight of fundamental discipline that forms the basis for peaceful human coexistence?
Crowded roads with people fighting for every inch of it and fragile infrastructure that has not really caught up with the changing times. So are the people of the times, zipping past their new toys with zero tolerance for the limitations we have to live with.
We are caught in the mad rush of fast lane life ignoring the basic needs of a civic society. It appears as though, over the times, what has changed is the economic affordability, but not the affordability to coexist peacefully.
‘Hamara kal, hamara aaj’ – Yes, of course.
‘Buland Bharat ki Buland tasweer’ – I am not sure!
Oh, man this is awesome. I enjoyed those days as much.
the attitude really is horrible. wish india grows up on that front too. every day i find it so difficult to enjoy the comforts of the hard earned living.
Great jingles of those days. U gave an opportunity to relive those days.
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