A Ride in the Cop’s Car!

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and none of us were in any mood to cook. So we set out to have lunch at an Indian restaurant called ‘Flavor of India’. The food was delicious and the day was perfect. Or so it seemed then. Little did we know what lay ahead in store for us. After lunch, we thought of heading back home and having a nice cozy afternoon nap.
With these thoughts in mind, we were driving back home in Vikram’s car, when all of a sudden the car seemed to wobble a bit and made odd sounds. To our horror and panic, we saw smoke billowing out of the bonnet!! And this, while we were cruising along at around 65 mph on the Interstate 270! Thanks to Vikram’s quick response, he changed lanes and managed to pull over to the shoulder. I shudder to think of what would have happened had the car decided to let off steam right in the middle of the expressway!

We immediately got out of the car. Oil was leaking or rather I should say flowing out. It was freezing outside. Since we didn’t have plans of going anywhere else, I had left behind my gloves and earmuffs at home. And little did I know that it was the wrong day I had chosen to make a style statement, for I had left my nice, cozy (but not very pretty) jacket and instead was sporting a stylish new (but not very warm) hoodie, that I had bought the day before for a price I later found hard to digest! It was biting cold and though the sun was trying to peep out of the clouds, the strong winds made sure that even the little warmth that it provided was pushed into oblivion. Having gathered our shaken selves, we contemplated the best thing to do in a situation like this. Bala called another friend and he suggested calling up the insurance company. So Vikram called up the insurance company. Meanwhile, the smoke had died down a bit and it was so freaking cold that we decided to get back inside the car even though I did have my own apprehensions about the car blowing up!

While Vikram was speaking to the officer from the insurance company, a cop car pulled over behind us. The police officer came and asked us what was up. He opened the bonnet and had a look at it and declared that the water pump had broken, even as I wondered why oil was leaking out of a broken water pump! He was also doubtful about the insurance company covering that cost (adding on to Vikram’s tension am sure!). Then, he called for a tow vehicle to tow the car to the service centre. Since, there was nothing else to do a right then, the officer suggested we go back home and he offered to arrange transport for the four of us. We told him we were only half a mile away from home. So he said he would give us a ride back home in his police car instead. I must admit I was thrilled at the prospect!

So there we were, in the police car for the first time in our lives. Akshatha sat in the front next to the officer and the three of us sat in the back seat, the seat meant for criminals! There was a thick mesh separating the front seats from the back (lest the criminals try to attack I presumed), leaving very little leg room. But of course, it would be too much to complain because but for the cop’s car we would have been stranded in the highway and ended up spending I don’t know how much for a cab ride back home. The officer drove us home and stopped the car in the parking lot of my apartment. I tried to open the door but realized that I couldn’t do so as it was locked and could be opened only from the outside. In police cars, the back doors automatically get locked (after all they are meant to lock up criminals!). So Akshatha opened it for us and we got out thanking the officer. The confused look on the faces of two people in the car behind us as they saw us get out of a cop’s car laughing was indeed amusing! The cop drove away and just when I thought it was all over, we realized that we had left the iPod in the cop’s car!!! Some days can be crazy!

P.S: We got back the iPod later :-) I still can’t say ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ until we hear anything about the car. It’s still at the service centre!

Stress

By no means am i under undue stress...but i just thought of writing a poem on stress :-)
So here i go!!


Schedules were tight,
worked until late nights...

Overloaded with work,
woke up with abrupt jerks...

images on screen were a blur,
mind was in a slur...

I yearned for some peaceful sleep,
but in work i was buried deep...

stress was taking a toll,
the mind,imprisoned between unknown walls..

life was a mess,
the culprit was of course stress...

And then one fine day, came an angel from the sky,
making my spirits soar high...

Said she, my dear boy,
life is to enjoy...

when your mind feels sick,
listen to some good music...

let your life echo with laughter,
At heart, always be a sheepish prankster...

Nature plays a major role,
in relaxing your body,mind and soul...

Spend time with your loved ones,said she,
that would fill your heart with glee...

Realization hit me hard,
As i sat by that yard...

The sky was slowly gathering a pink haze,
My mind was in a daze...

Before i could thank her,she was gone....
Leaving me behind enlightend, in the approaching dawn...

Food for thought

There are two kinds of people in this world. One, who believe that every positive change needs a miracle of sorts to happen. That one small positive act can get drowned in a sea of negativity without making any difference. The other kind are the ones who believe that even the smallest of acts can make a world of difference. Before you dismiss this blog as a complex analysis of human psychology, let me come to the point.

Lack of civic sense irks me. The other day I was travelling by train. The lady sitting in front of me was eating an orange. Without the slightest hesitation, she threw the peel right there inside the train. What surprised me more was that most of the people seemed totally unperturbed by this. People casually crumpling and throwing tickets while getting off buses and paper tea cups out of train windows are a common sight. Can’t we just find a trash bin and dump it in? The simple act of having a polythene bag handy while travelling long distances and accumulating all trash in it until we find a trash bin can help a lot. I know many might scoff at the idea. But I believe it really does make a difference. It could even inspire others to do the same.

The other thing which I strongly detest is people spitting on the roads. Somehow it seems extremely disgusting and gross to me. When I was in Chennai, I generally took the underground subway to reach the railway station. While I was returning from office, a well dressed, middle-aged gentleman was walking in front of me. I saw him spit right in the middle of the subway and the next thing I knew I was asking him how he could do such a thing in spite of being an educated man. He had a bewildered look in his face and was completely taken aback. I just walked off leaving him questioning my sanity. Though I don’t know whether it actually had any effect on him, it somehow made me feel better than just fretting and fuming about it.

There can be a hundred such examples, that each of us come across in our daily lives. I know asking people to walk around with trash bags handy might sound unrealistic, impractical and even crazy to many. But its all in our attitude. I have tried my best and found that if you really make a conscious effort, its not that difficult after all!