Dilwale

Rating: 1/5

Die-hard brothers, unconditional love, flashback, misunderstanding, guns and cars, and a well guarded secret known to many- not to forget the songs, fights and silly comedy in between every scene....Dilwale makes Chennai Express and Happy New Year a better watch.

                                   

Set in Goa, Shahrukh Khan plays Raj (of course), owner of a car repair and styling garage. He loves his brother, Veer (Varun), and would do anything for him. Varun gets smitten by Ishita (Keerti Sanon) when she asks for lift, when she more or less shares her problems with him on their first meeting. A dream song, a badgering fight, few cliched dialogues and they are in love. 

All of a sudden, we are given a flashback in Bulgaria, 15 years ago. Raj is the son of the don (Vinod Khanna) under the name of Kaali (Yeah you heard it right!) and meets Meera (Kajol) during a chase where he bumps his car into her. Hey and Hello easily turns into a date and Raj is in love. It takes Meera sometime (there is a twist apparently there) to realise her love and once she is understands...we have Gerua flying. Raj's father (who isn't his own father, of course) and Meera's father are rivals (of course). At a meeting organised to confirm their children's relationship, Meera's father double crosses and attacks Raj and his father. Guns fire everywhere...people gets shot. Meera misunderstands Raj to have killed her father. TADA...break up. 

15 years later, when Veer and Ishita decides to get married, Raj meets Meera again. Yes, you guessed it right. Ishita is Meera's sister (of course). Without knowing the real past, Veer and Ishita plans to bring Raj and Meera together again. Will Meera know the actual truth behind her father's death? Will Raj accept her again? Loads of stupid plans to patch up follows making up the second half of the over tiring movie. 

In between this battered story, we have a torturous Johnny Lever with his comedy, Sanjay Mishra with his irritating rhyming poetry and Boman Irani as King, a caricature don whose presence have no significance whatsoever. A complete waste of talent, not to forget Kabir Bedi who plays Meera's father. 

Dilwale offers nothing new. The comedy isn't timed well and whatsapp jokes are better than them. The scenes are directed like spoofs. I for once definitely thought the entire movie was a spoof as I laughed at all the serious portions and had a straight face for the comic ones. 

The car chase sequences were nicely done. Janam Janam song rings till the end.  

The actors did their parts fine but the entire problem lies with the script and characterization. Kaali, at one point, threatens Meera not to show her face again else he would kill her...In a moments time, Meera is in his house confessing her love...and in moments it's Gerua. Later, Meera rejects the relationship between Ishita and Veer, but seeing her sister unhappy she accepts it but places a condition (of course!) that Veer should stay with them instead of his brother (of course!) and when Veer emotionally tells he can't do that as he loves his brother a lot, Meera discloses the secret that Raj isn't his real brother (of course!). Anyway, all this is nothing compared to the climax. And yes...the movie ends with "Bade bade shehron mein" dialogue. 

Kajol looks stunning in every frame, something to watch the movie for. 

There is not a single high point to actually appreciate or even remember for good reasons. Dilwale is predictable, boring and laughable. It tries to force sentimental emotions to the characters but fails badly at every step. 

Not worth investing your money or your time.

Always and Everyone

Rating: 4.5/5

Always and Everyone is a medical drama which aired for four seasons from 1999 to 2001.  The show tracked the lives of the doctors working at the Emergency Unit of Saint Victor’s Hospital. Starring Martin Shaw and Niamh Cusack in the main roles, the show brilliantly portrayed the challenges faced by the doctors both professionally and personally and how they coped up differently according to their own personalities.

I came across this show when I was searching for Martin Shaw’s work after I became a huge fan of his George Gently series. I was really curious to see Martin as a doctor when I had just seen him portray a tough maverick police officer. I was truly surprised to see how I enjoyed the entire show and just not Martin’s character.

The main aspect of the show which I loved was the realistic approach the writers had towards the entire concept of medical drama. I never felt the drama was overdone at any places. There were serious opportunities of it going overboard especially during the surgery scenes, but the writers, directors and the actors kept it down which made it extremely effective in getting the audience connected to the characters. Kudos to the writers.

A&E- Accident and Emergency is the Emergency unit at St Victor’s hospital. Under the eccentric leadership of Dr. Robert Kingsford, the team comprises of doctors, senior nurses and nurse practitioners. The routine includes the unit receiving an emergency call regarding the basic details of the patient coming in and decision being taken on the core team who will take charge. The team’s main responsibility is to stabilise the patient, get the basic tests done and send them to the concerned department for further specialised treatment. And when one patient is done, the next one comes in. Such is the buzz at the unit. Apart from the major accidents, there are minor ones that come in, like a fall, sprained ankles, stomach aches and the like which are mostly taken care by the junior doctors with proper guidance from the seniors. There are some really fun moments at the minors. The writers effortlessly builds the relationship among the members of the team. The team, though has different ladders of seniority amongst them, they very well understand how each and every member’s role is important for the operation of the unit. The surgery scenes at the Resus are done without it looking fake. Appreciation to all the actors for making those scenes look very realistic. Uttering the medical terms have to be really fluent when playing a doctor. It shouldn’t look like reciting a poem. Most of the actors do perfect justice to their roles as doctors. There are varied issues handled in the four seasons in addition to the progress in every character’s personal life.

The principal characters include Dr. Robert Kingsford played by Martin Shaw and Dr. Christine Fletcher played by Niamh Cusack. Robert is a born leader. A man of integrity and purpose, he effectively manages his team under unmeasurable pressure. Go-to man for everyone, his team has immense trust and belief in him which is always reciprocated. He never lets down his team in case they make any mistake. He has a tough word with them, but always backs them. Courageous and a risk taker, he is seen fighting against the management policies which obstruct and cause inconvenience to his work and for his patients. He has his moment of weakness when he struggles to cope with his grief over the loss of his wife. He strongly bonds with Christine, encourages her to take up higher positions and turns towards her whenever he is in need to talk to someone. He has his short outbursts of anger but is quick to apologise. A&E would be incomplete without Robert.

Christine on the other hand is completely different from Robert. She takes up leadership roles and struggles for the better part of it. She is loving and concerned, but she believes in keeping her personal emotions away from her professional life but unintentionally makes many decisions following her personal feelings. Her timing of operational decisions come across highly poor. She takes time to understand the bigger picture. She requires her team to give her the push to run the unit. Quick to judge people, she is quite naïve when it comes to management politics. She plays a huge role in helping Robert move on from his wife’s loss. Very sensitive towards office gossip, she forces herself not to have any personal relationship with Robert though the latter wishes to have one. Not a risk taker, she plays her game pretty safe and abides by the management rules because of which she has arguments with Robert many a times. Her team trusts her but not the trust they have on Robert. She understands that as she always feels Robert deserves the Director’s post more than her. She is down to earth and listens when she has to. She and Robert makes a great team which she realises very late.

Martin Shaw effortlessly slips into the role of Robert. There is not a moment when we don’t connect to his character and his endurance. Niamh Cusack does complete justice to her part considering the complexity of her character.

Michael Kitchen’s portrayal of Dr. Jack Turner has to be appreciated. Jack and Robert are rivals. They don’t like each other and they are perfectly aware of that. Their exchanges are real fun. They understand each other very well and knows what the other will come up as his next move. There are no competition between them or plots to overturn the other- at least no wicked plotting. They don’t compromise their work because of their rivalry. Christine’s struggle to balance the men is a must watch.

Other important characters are Mike, Stuart, Kathy, Judy and Terry. The banter that happens in between the tense situations is a treat to watch. Most of them are in brief relationships with someone from their team.

Season 1

Season 1 basically introduces the characters and how the unit works. Christine’s life with her husband and Robert’s with his pregnant wife are briefly shown. But the significant parts of the episodes cover the various kinds of patients the doctors face and how they efficiently handles them. I specifically love 1.3. The tension at Resus is brilliantly shown.

Season 2

Season 2 focuses on various aspects. First is Robert losing his wife and how he copes with his grief, and how he fulfils his new role as a single father. There are some really moving moments especially the one when Robert gets to know the real reason behind his wife’s death. His erratic behaviour at his work soon after and his fight to find his passion back are written nicely throughout the season. We are also shown how professional life affects personal life through Mike Gregson. He has two teenage sons and a failed marriage- divorce, court and custody and how that takes toll on him and his work. My favourite episodes would be 2.2 which shows the closing down of A&E for decontamination as a result of which Robert’s wife is taken to another hospital where she dies, unknown to Robert till the end, 2.9 where the team handles an airplane blast and 2.11 when there is an unbelievable number of patients at the unit and the team struggles to monitor everyone.

Season 3

Season 3 sees the entry of Jack Turner as head of Orthopaedics and call in doctor for A&E. His ideologies are like a train crasher to Robert’s. Christine slowly gets a liking for Jack which grows in this season. Jack becomes the Director of A&E because Robert denies the position. Jack’s decisions doesn’t please Robert and he takes it on Christine, who for most part of it supports Jack. The season also portrays a lot of sensitive issues like racism. One of the storylines depict how the slightest of the mistake can cause the life of the patient. Dr Stuart makes an insertion wrong which nearly costs the life of the patient and Dr. Jack Turner misses a diagnosis which leads the patient to be eternally paralysed. The consequences of those mistakes are also dealt with sensitively and practically. We also see Robert planning to resign unable to fight the politics but later takes it back. I couldn’t pick one episode as my favorite as every episode had really good moments.  Robert and Mike’s attitude to take on the management together is really good. Though they had their initial differences, they make it up maturely. At the same time, the portrayal of management politics tones down the intensity of the patient dealings at the Resus.

Season 4

The final season wraps up in style. It starts with the episode showing a motorway accident and several patients brought in along with a psychopath wanting to take revenge against one of the patients. The season continues with management politics and Christine-Jack relationship. But one of the brilliant episodes of the show has to be 4.4 which shows mob attacks between two races. There are new characters constituting the major portion of the unit, who don’t really make a mark. D’Costa and Sam’s track takes most of the screen time. The season focuses more on the central characters’ personal life tying up the loose ends. Robert’s decision to leave A&E for final, Jack proposing to Christine and Christine’s dilemma makes up for most part of the last two episodes yet it was necessary to give those characters a closure. My favorite episodes would be 4.1, 4.4 and 4.8.

A&E works for me because of the fantastic writing and brilliant acting. The show sticks to its theme till its end. There are tracks which aren’t the best, but for most part of the show, the storyline is very interesting. Characters are close to reality and situations are always connectable.

Being a crime story lover, this show surprisingly makes it to my top 10 favorite shows list, partly because of Martin Shaw but predominantly because of what the show in itself stands for.   

Harry Pearce - A Textbook for Leadership

Piercing eyes but with a calm demeanour, Harry Pearce, fictional character from the Britain Television Drama- Spooks, was the head of counter-terrorism, a position which required immense emotional stability to brace through the most pressure filled situations. Highly respected not just by his team, but also by every top official in the government, his uncompromising nature had always got him into loggerheads with his seniors.

Being the head of Section D, he had the task of running a team of diverse personalities. He had several Section Chiefs like Tom, Adam, Ross and Lucas, with whom he had a good rapport with, in spite of the several arguments and difference of opinions. He believed in letting his people voice out their opinions instead of merely following his orders. He had given his team the freedom to even question his orders, in case they found it unfair. A very positive group dynamics resulted which helped in arriving at consensus easily.

Harry had the mind boggling responsibility of making the most difficult decisions under intolerable pressure which he did without the slightest of the doubt. Level headed and cool even under dangerous circumstances, his team always looked up to him for orders. The decisions he had to make had always forced him to choose his country over everything else, his primary job being national security. Be it the time when he had to blast a bomb inside a ship to contain the radioactivity even though he had his officers inside, or the time when he had to witness his close officer’s family being killed in front of his eyes, in exchange for the information on hidden Uranium which he refused to give to the terrorists, or the time he had to activate an electromagnetic pulse to attack the submarine bombs to save numerous lives, knowing the pulse would cease electricity in the area leading to deaths in hospitals, or the time he refused to share the names of his assets even under extreme mental torture knowing it was an orchestrated attack on him by someone to gain access to his network. His focus and grit, and his strong willed mind let him out of the toughest situations making him the perfect role model for a sincere leader.

On the hindsight, Harry had nothing but work in his life. He deliberately moved away from his family to protect them from his job risks, something he regretted all the while. His relationship with his colleague Ruth ended before it began, yet he gained immense strength from her presence. He was impressive in maintaining a professional relationship with her inspite of their awkward past. The time when he got suspended, we could see his struggle to live a normal life, watching TV and taking a walk with his dog. It showed how he grew so weak without his work. The expression on his face-relief, when he sat on his chair in his cabin on his return portrayed his strong connection to his work. He could never keep himself away from his duty to serve his country.

His strategies and covert operations had been ruthless at times when needed. The operations where he negotiated with three parties to save multiple lives, or the operation where he walked to the opponent’s campaign to strike a deal to avert a bomb blast, or the way he dealt with a guy who followed him to kill him, Harry Pearce showcased how he was a genius in his craft. The orders from the top management and the pressure involved never influenced his operations. With unbreakable confidence on his team, he still feared whenever he had to send them on dangerous operations. Witnessing his colleagues die in course of their operations and attending funerals of several of his team members weakened him gradually pushing him to put down his resignation to stay away from making those challenging decisions. It showed the human side of him, the emotional side when he couldn’t take those decisions which would send his officers- his family to the gallows. Yet, he understood he could be the only one with the strong heart to make such decisions.

Harry was a man of vulnerabilities too. Be it his reaction against Irish terrorists, or the time he realised his daughter was involved in one of the cases he was working on, his thought process definitely got strangled in those moments. But he was open enough to admit that he was overcome by his personal emotions.  His team was his family. He didn’t shy away from taking revenge against the people responsible for his colleagues’ death, even if that means going against the rules.

Harry was a man of integrity. Optimistic with clear set goals, the team stayed extremely motivated in executing their plans because of him, knowing their leader was always there to hold their back. In the initial episodes, he was seen just sitting in the grid while his team was on the field in action. But in due course it became clearly evident how important his role was off the field. His instructions and timely planning and decisions let the team on the field to adapt and act accordingly. His dry sense of humour accompanied by sarcasm was a treat to watch, especially his irritation towards everyone barging into his room without knocking. His one liners were thoroughly enjoyable especially in the first 3 seasons.

No one can be perfect. Harry Pearce wasn’t perfect. He had his weaknesses. He had been erroneous in his judgement. Yet, his simplicity in accepting his mistakes, his quick thought process, his ability to set clear goals, his intellect on varied subjects, his smartness in understanding political agendas, his respect and concern for his team members, his emotional strength, his planning and communication, and his empathy proved what a great leader he was. A very well written character, a balanced character- Harry Pearce will always remain one of my favourite characters on television, a character which could easily be used for leadership analysis. 

Quantico and The Blacklist - First episodes review

Quantico - Pilot review

The prime reason for me to check out the first episode of Quantico was undoubtedly Priyanka Chopra. The media hype was naturally high and hence I forced myself to watch the show so as to not to be left out of the discussion.  Except knowing that the show belonged to my favourite genre of crime drama, I had no clue about the basic plot or Priyanka's character, Alex Parrish. I was mildly surprised when the show began with Alex . I realised she was definitely playing one of the important characters of the movie unaware that the show was actually about her character and her life.

FBI training for new recruits at Quantico, very many diverse characters and various tasks to be completed in order to find a place in FBI filled the first episode primarily.  Being the pilot episode, it might not be fair to expect too many gripping scenes, nevertheless the episode on the whole seemed too dull except for a few moments at the end. Characters like Yasmine and Simon are hopeful.

Another low moment was the back story of Alex's which reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Keen's past in The Blacklist.

Priyanka was good in this episode, yet I felt very strange to see her in an American show. Something wasn't fitting perfectly.

The writing of the Pilot, inspite of its laziness at many places, was still a good first episode. The interview scenes and the lines there were smart. With too many shows on the same genre, the writers have to come up with something different and more interesting to survive and retain its viewers.

The Blacklist - Season Three Episode One review

I remember the time in the first season of this show when I used to wait desperately for the next episode, wouldn't mind to use my mobile data to download the episode, and discuss the numerous theories possible with my fellow Blacklist fanatics. There were several minute clues left in every episode which had to be sown together continuously to view the final picture on our own. The show was more like a thriller game for me which I never got tired playing. But again, this was just the first season.

The second season tried to continue the good work left behind, but something had definitely changed. The episodes weren't as gripping as it used to be and I didn't feel the urgency to be regular in watching the show anymore. Somewhere the show became too much of a mess to understand clearly where the story was heading. The main plot of hunting the Blacklisters got intertwined with the interesting story of Red and Keen's relationship and it took a while to understand how all the episodes weren't actually independent but were connected all the way down. Finally the past was revealed. It was worth the wait, but somewhere it wasn't a blast, hence bursting my expectations.   

Coming to the third season, I was a little weary. What was actually left to tell in the show? What was the objective of this season? Keen, along with Red, has turned a fugitive now. They are in the run. (W)Resler is in charge. The first episode of third season, The Troll Farmer, was more like a connecting episode to season 2, reminding the viewers of what happened at the end of season 2. I still don't understand why The Troll Farmer was a Blacklister, especially at position 37. He didn't even pose a threat. Red and Keen aren't able to leave the city, and Red is using all his sources to find a way out. Aram still trusts Keen, Resler wants to focus just on his duty and Navabi looks confused as always. I wish Cooper gets back to the team. The team needs a strong leader and that's evident when there is none.

Dembe has got a story of his own this time which was a surprise.  I always liked Red-Dembe combination. Hope to see them together soon.

Nevertheless, the scenes of Red, as usual, were wonderful thanks to James Spader, though I did miss his hat. Red and Keen have got separated during their escape and this probably sets the story for the forthcoming episodes I hope. The start of the third season wasn't as interesting as I wished. I just hope the writing picks up and the story starts building up from the next episode. 

Neighbour - A friend or A foe?

A loud clapping of a door accompanied by an outrageous scream of a name jolted me up from the nap I had involuntarily fallen into. Rubbing my eyes filled with the sleepy tears, I raised my vision to penetrate through the window to view the front gates of my two infamous neighbours. Another one of their usual squabble. “The place has to be named as Squabble Gates”, I chuckled to myself. That was like the 24^th choice in the list of the Gate Names, but I always preferred calling it simply the Gates. I always liked to while away time in worthy matters like this list creation compared to unworthy matters like reading the giant book which had been in front of me for the past 2 weeks. “How could one even write such a huge book without any story or picture?” I had always wondered. I turned my eyes back to the dull words on the even more dullish page while I sent my ear out on vacation at the Gates.

My ears sent back signals to my brain that the duel between the two heads of the house. Mr. Reddy and Mr. Lalit Kumar, both in their 60s, was about Curie, the pet cat of Mr. Reddy’s family.

“It has scratched the seat covers of my son’s bike,” screamed Mr. Kumar.

“It’s SHE not IT,” snapped back Mr. Reddy.

“How many times should I warn you to tie up your pussy cat…Else I will have to complain to the association…” said Mr. Kumar dangerously.

“Do what you can…” replied Mr. Reddy casually.

Realising my chapter in front of me was rather more interesting than the topic of the argument outside, I pulled all my senses back to complete my syllabus for the exams. They had disappointed me with a boring topic this time.

It had been 2 years since I moved in to rented house in the first floor of Mrs. Anita’s house. I had never liked the idea of hostels or PGs. I had always wanted to live on my own, and Anita Aunty, being my mother’s close friend, graciously offered me to stay in her house till I had completed my studies. I had tried to be of whatever help I could in return. The colony I had lived in had two rows of houses, and the window from my portion zoomed on the opposite row of houses, slowly generating my interest in viewing the squabbles between Reddys and Kumars as a hobby in due time.

I had no idea how deep rooted the raging attitude was between the two families. I had seen them fighting for more or less every matter under the sun. I had never understood the reason behind such inert enmity. Was it because of the principles each family carried? Was it because of their own culture? Or was it just plain ego? I would never know. Perhaps I would choose to make a project on human behaviour and take my neighbours as my sample.

Sometimes, the arguments develop to be very serious that, I would spend hours watching the drama from the window. At least for the next week or two after that, there would be an eerie silence at the Gates, a silence which used to seem more dangerous than the open fight itself.

It wasn’t just the Kings of the family always at loggerheads, but every member in the family had a matching fighting partner from the other family. Exception were the kids. It was funny how the kids of both the houses got along with each other very nicely. Mr. Kumar’s grandson and Mr. Reddy’s grandson studied in the same class in the same school. Though their parents competed with each other with respect to their son’s marks, the boys seemed to be very cool about it. Seeing them play cricket and football at the Gates was a pleasure, at the same time, I felt so jealous seeing them play while I had to hog my books. Mr. Kumar’s grandson loved playing with his friend’s little brother, 2 years old. The funny part was how Mr. Kumar himself used to leave the little one to play with his enemy’s grandson. Perhaps he was fond of that boy. Every time I thought about the weird relationship both the families lived with, my chapters looked less complicated.

I could remember every major arguments both the families had had in the past two years. Once Mrs Kumar was screaming about the nasty smell from Mrs Reddy’s kitchen. Apparently, the Kumars were vegetarians and couldn’t stand the smell of the chicken korma. A debate on freedom of expression and freedom of cooking and eating followed for the next 45 minutes, halting the cooking process in the rest of the houses.

Once, Mr Kumar’s son, Rakesh, had parked his car inching a little over into Mr Reddy’s house’s line of control. Heated exchanges queued, followed by Mr Reddy’s son, Vinay parking his car in a position impossible for Rakesh to move his car.

Another interesting fight was over the garden of two trees, and few plants. The tree of the Reddys crossed the line of control of Kumars. Screaming match began impromptu and arrows of complaints that included leaves making a mess on the corridor and uncalled visits from various insects’ families were registered.

Other arguments were: encouraging beggars, qualms about the other’s housemaid, skewed garbage bags outside and the smell from it, debate over association issues, noise from carpentry work, and many more. Of course, there should have been many other issues which I would have missed when I was in college. I wish there was an online portal to give live updates of the Gates.

Another interesting exchange was the fight over their common compound wall. Mr Reddy had raised the height of the compound wall amidst strong objection from Mr Kumar. Apart from increasing the height, he had sown sharp objects on the top to prevent anyone or anything to climb inside.  Mr Kumar objected saying kids were around and they might get hurt while playing. Mr Reddy didn’t find any meaning in his counter’s argument. In fact, he argued saying Mr Reddy is getting a secured wall on one side for free because of him. When the two Kings were in the fighting pits, their Queens always stood like escorts, nodding their heads vigorously and pointing fingers at their opponents, reiterating the same point again and again. They must have always mugged up their lessons, I pondered. I had always wondered how the two families, in spite of so many differences, still lived together. The Reddys attended Mr. Kumar’s second son’s wedding I heard, and had a happy time too.

After the cat squabble, the week had been relatively silent at the Gates. I had completed by last exam by God’s grace and was happy and relaxed. I had switched on a movie on my laptop when I heard a loud scream. Assuming, the Gates was back in work, I peeped out. I immediately sensed something was terribly wrong. Women and kids from all the houses were racing to Mr Kumar’s house. “What was wrong?” I wondered as I continued watching from the window, standing nervously. I saw Mr Kumar’s panic stricken daughter in law, running downstairs from the terrace. A moment later, I realised what the situation was.

The little boy, Mr Kumar’s 2 year old grandson had supposedly fallen down from the terrace, terrace which was in the second floor from the ground. I could feel my heart beat faster, as one of the neighbour woman picked up the child from the bushes of the plants. The boy was screaming, as his mother shambled quickly to him, hugging him and checking if he was alright. It seemed like there was no men present at the Kumar’s then. I still watched as Mr. Reddy’s daughter in law fetched a bottle of water from her house, while Mrs Kumar helped the boy drink it. The boy continued screaming, leaving everyone in fear. There was no blood wound, probably an internal wound?  Everyone’s mind spoke the same. In a split second, Vinay started his car, with the ladies of the Kumar’s household, and his wife climbing in. The car whooshed leaving the rest of the neighbours huddled anxiously.

I still stood by the window, thinking about the boy. I prayed for his good health, as I continued watching the group of women discussing, few pointing at the terrace, few others looking at the bush. Few other bystanders joined the crowd, getting themselves informed. I sat down investigating about the fall when I saw Anita Aunty talking to the ladies. I realised mostly every member of the rest of the houses were standing near the Gates, neighbours who had rushed to help.

Suddenly, I felt a pang of horror and guilt. What was I doing, sitting in my room and watching through the window. Why didn’t I run to help my neighbour? The Reddys who had always had problems with the Kumars were the ones to help and take the boy to the hospital immediately. They had buried their petty arguments and differences when the other was in need. They had forgotten the harsh words exchanged all these years. Do even relatives do that what a neighbour did today? When both the families could be so helpful to each other, why couldn’t they stay cordial all these years?

I decided to walk down and take part in the discussion so as to not be termed as arrogant and careless. The next moment I realised I would be too late into the huddle as I watched few women walking back to their home. I felt I should at least talk to Aunty and express my concern.

I had to board my train home that night but I hadn’t packed. There had been no news from the hospital which made me very jittery. I constantly called Aunty to know if she had any news but none. It was time and I had to leave. As I arranged my bags in the taxi, I saw Vinay driving into the colony. Immediately, Aunty and the other neighbours, who had been constantly guarding the Gates from their houses, waiting for someone to arrive, speeded to know what happened. I, this time, joined the group. I was relieved to know the little boy was alright, and had a small bump for which the doctors had suggested for a scan. Apart from that, the boy had survived without any injuries miraculously.

I heard Vinay calling up someone to come to his house and remove the sharp objects on the top. I couldn’t imagine what could have happened in case the boy had…

I slowly walked back to the taxi to go home. I had never realised that neighbours weren’t just people living next door, but they were family living next door. In spite of numerous problems, they would always be there when you were in need, however unfair they could have been before.

Aunty used to call me at least twice a month whenever I went home for holidays. But this time I made it a point to call and inform Aunty that I had reached home safely. This time I made sure to get a small gift for her, for reasons beyond my understanding. It could be because I really love her or it could be because I was grateful to her. When I went back to Aunty’s place after the vacation and took my position in front of the window, and opened a new giant book, my eyes instinctively went towards the Gates. A smile slowly made way to my face as I saw Mr. Kumar and Mr. Reddy at the Gates, having their usual squabble, this time pipes being the debate topic. I felt a sudden admiration for them.

The End.

A Galore of Questions

It was yet again the most anticipated day of every week, Friday. I was glad my working hours had come to an end and I could go home to welcome my weekend. It usually took me 20 to 25 minutes to drive home, the 9 kms distance between my office and home by bike. I always preferred the highway, of course neglecting the rash race among the various local and city buses, dancing between the lanes. It was a warm day, the wind found its way to brush my face through the helmet, saving me from the suffocation, which I always felt while waiting at the traffic signals, sometimes forcing me to even remove the helmet as I waited. 

This ride on Friday began with no difference until I covered some 5 kms, I faced a long line of vehicles stranded, struggling to inch forward. Immediately, different scenarios popped on my mind - Was it an accident? Was some VIP passing? Did some vehicle topple? Was it road maintenance? With these thoughts, I following the bike in front of me, the driver who made his way front using the narrow space to the left of the bus, sometimes getting down on the pavement too. A separate queue for two wheelers were created who took the special narrow path, with a feeling of nearing their destination. 

After at least 10 minutes of carefully strutting, putting numerous buses and other heavy vehicles behind me, rubbing my floaters hard on the road changing its color to dust, I could slowly see the traffic clearing at a distance. Encouraged that I could reach home in a few minutes, I drove forward trying to find the reason for the jam. Till now I don't have the slightest clue about the source. For a city like mine, traffic jams on the highway were rare. Anyway, after passing one of the major junctions, my heart sank seeing another swarm of vehicles. "What's the matter today?" I asked myself. I peeped upwards to get a glimpse of what was happening ahead, but in vain as all I could see were the tall buses hindering my view. 

The process of juggling on the narrow space on the left began once again. On reaching the front, I witnessed the reason for the jam. 

Though not a major junction like the previous one, vehicles from either sides of the highway wanted to get to the other side. And with vehicles from my side already speeding to catch up on the time they had spent on waiting, the jam was born, or I might say here, a deadlock on the highway, with none of the vehicles able to move to give space to allow at least one side of the vehicles to flow.

I stood there in the first row watching the deadlock. A huge van from the left wanting to take the right. Few cars from the right wanting to take the left road. And vehicles of all kind behind me wanting to take the straight route, the highway. Every driver was looking at the other, with confusion at the same time with arrogance. No one wanted to back down. 

I looked left and right helplessly, trying to search for the solution in the air and wanting someone to grab them. Suddenly I felt a determination, a strong feeling of wanting to do something, wanting to show the world how one has to take responsibility, step up and be a leader. My legs slowly moved to the side stand, my hands to the key to switch off the ignition. My heart beat faster. I looked around again to see if anyone else was taking that responsibility. There was none. 

Suddenly there was extra honking as I saw a man, signaling another guy to my left, pointing to the other side. There was a small escape route between a car and a bus to my right, a route which only two wheelers can pass through to the step on the other side. Slowly, all the bikes started squeezing through the space, continuing their journey to their destination. I heard honking from behind me who wanted to follow the same route. I stood transfixed for a moment. I remembered my determination for a moment looking at the jam in front of me and then saw the escape route. I felt a sudden pressure mounting inside me. 

I succumbed to the pressure. My legs moved away from the side stand, my hand away from my key back to the accelerator bar. I swiftly moved through the gap, applying the brakes intermittently not to brush the vehicles on either side and in a moment I was facing an empty road. Immediately I felt angry and frustrated. I looked through the rear view mirror. The traffic deadlock still existed. 

Why didn't I get down and guide the traffic? What stopped me? What changed my mind? Was I scared in someway? Was it because I was a girl and me standing in the middle of all men, regulating the traffic would be against the society rules? Did I fear the policemen would come and reprimand me in some way? Did I doubt my ability, that I probably wouldn't be able to find the resolution? Did I panic thinking what if the people around me don't follow my instructions and I end up making a fool of myself? Was it because I felt it was none of my business, and I have a way out and I should take it instead of trying to become a hero? Did I worry someone might actually record or take a picture of me and I become a joke on the social network? 

I noticed a traffic policemen at the next junction, looking in the direction of the jam sensing something was wrong. I wanted to stop and inform him about the jam. But again, disappointing myself, I didn't stop. I kept driving, passing the rest of the signals at ease, with not many vehicles behind me. I still wonder why I couldn't take responsibility that moment on the road. Those were the people of my city. It was my city and yet I couldn't gather myself to stand up. Do I actually have the right to complain about the things around me, if I don't have the courage to grab an opportunity to right a wrong, as simple as a traffic jam. Do people have the right, to write and review and criticize the smallest of the issues prevailing in the country, if they don't have the courage to actually stand up and do something about it? 

Writing about issues, forwarding it and making it viral does bring awareness to a lot of people. We do have the freedom of expression too. But instead of whining and complaining about the issues, wouldn't it be better to actually try and find a solution to it, collectively? Yes. Finding a solution is definitely not easy, but is complaining the solution? 

I can openly say I don't have the right to complain about traffic when I had the opportunity to do something about it. Hence, as a citizen I believe each one of us has the opportunity to do something. But how can I find the solution to the problems. Simple. I just have to solve the galore of questions on my mind first. The rest will fall in place on its own I believe.