Oh God!

It is the last week of yet another calendar year. With people thronging the streets the evenings are generally crowded. And now, with the petrol and diesel getting cheaper than the grocery and vegetables, there are more and more of these private vehicles all around. 

I am on my way to home from office in public transport. It is 40 km, 2 hour travel to reach my destination on normal days. But today, in one hour the bus has moved only 5 km. I was yearning to reach home to be with family. "But it is year-end traffic jam." - my seasoned mind consoled myself.

Standing in the crowded bus I see the Toyotas, Suzukis, Hondas, most of them with one or two passengers, honking at each other. How sad. They are feeling uncomfortable even in their luxury. Traffic police are struggling to control these monsters. The siren of an Ambulance speeding down suddenly stopped - has the suffocating life in it "escaped"?

My father used to tell me the adage to understand Capitalism - "Rich becomes Richer, Poor becomes Poorer." I felt, I am experiencing it. Materialism and lust for luxury has mobbed us. "A car for each will make all cannibals and a private bus among them will result in genocide! Feels to shoot the jaguars easing through. Oh God! Where are you in this hour of necessity? What are you waiting for?" - my tired mind started to grumble. 

In the peak of unbearable physical and mental suffocation I got down from the crowded bus. It is already dark around. The thought to reach home had evaporated long back. Sipping a tea, I walked through the traffic watching the world running after itself. I had walked almost 2 km. Then suddenly, in the thin air seeping through the thick traffic, I heard the beats of percussion - the drums, the gongs, the bells! There at a distance, to my utter disbelief, I saw the big elephant riding through the crowded highway with the omnipotent "God" sitting on top! The long walk has brought out the big truth - the whole "fun" was due to the "curse" of the God - In fact the procession of God - "Incredible India!"