The Traffic Signal Incident

Well first off all, I will thank IndiBlogger for this Happy Hours initiative. The following blog post is for Look up stories campaign by Housing.com (https://housing.com/lookup.)

I would like to narrate an incident which filled me up with optimism and hope for the future. It happened a few months ago during Diwali. To everyone’s surprise it was a cloudy day.  Diwali is not the time when we have cloudy days. And this overcast day made it more boring. I was thinking whether the next generation will have to study the different seasons in our country. It rains every time of the year except during the monsoons.  I was lying on the sofa and  watching news on the television.  All I could watch were the negative news. What a day I said.  Its overcast outside, which was making me feel dull. Nothing good to watch on the TV and I was also unable to sleep. Then suddenly my Mom called me from the kitchen, “ Vasant, go get some vegetables from the market.” And handed over me the list of vegetables to bring. Even though I was in no mood to go, I had to hurry up because the rains could have started pouring any time. I took my bike and headed towards the market. I hate going to the vegetable market. There is so much crowd and chaos out there.

At the market I saw a seller beating up a kid for stealing his fruits. That little boy seemed a beggar to me. I felt that these kids must  go to schools and get education because they are the future of our country. If they are educated they we earn their living.  My thoughts were brought to an end by the rain drops. 

‘Oh no! Rains during Diwali !’, (This isn’t the time for rains in this part of Maharashtra) I said to me and rushed to my bike.  The drizzle had just began but one look at the sky promised that it was going to be heavy later. I rushed towards my home but I had trouble riding my bike in the rains without any raincoat or helmet to cover me.  I reached a traffic signal. I speeded up so that I could get pass it before it turned red but to my distress it turned red and I had to wait.  As the timer showed last 15 seconds almost everyone behind me  honked and went away. Some also gave me look as if I was the one who was not complying the law.  I turned around to see only a lady with  a kid on the scooter beside me waiting for the signal turn green. That little kid asked his mother out of confusion, “Mummy, Why aren’t we going ?Everyone else has already left”

The lady explained the little boy by pointing towards the signal, “Beta, it hasn’t turned green. And we shall not go unless it turns green”

And she left only after the signal had turned green. Now that may seem  a very small gesture by that lady, but in the era when everyone wants their kids to win the rat race ( by any means), here I found a mother who not only explained her child to abide the law but also acted accordingly.

This little incident filled me up with hope and optimism for the next generation.  Just a little while ago I was worried about the next generation. But after the incident at the traffic signal, I realized that there are good people and they are trying their level best for a better tomorrow and in future words like kindness and ethics will also find a place beyond the textbooks.