An Eye For an Eye - Will make all Drivers Turn Blind
For all that we know of Indian cities, they are not so bad as it were some decades ago. It still had less pot-holes, had fewer vehicles - cycles, trusted Lamby's and cars - quite many hand carts and horse-driven tonga's! (I think of it and I can smell the horse and the hey bundle that these stock under its belly)
Even cycles had its kerosene-lights or the 'miller dynamo sets' that lit up the dingy roads! Cycles were insisted that it had a good reflector, a license tag and one had to watch out for taking doubles - lest you'd be caught by the cop!
What wonderful peaceful moments in time. We've come very far far away from this tranquility.
Cities have now better street lighting, lesser road-area (two wheelers, cycles and cars take away the shoulder area), poor pedestrians walk meanderingly into the road. And we all need to watch out for the fully-laden, fully-lit, multi-eyed post-sunset monsters ---- full-beamed cars that can zip past you, and leave you with a 'reddish/blueish ghostly image', that will still linger on in the retina! Some more 'direct interaction' can turn you BLIND for life!
When these vehicles are fitted with a devise called 'dipper', why is it that drivers do not use this and prefer to have the 'full-beam' on, I wonder.
As a very good, sane driver with the best of road sense, and been driving in the cities of Hyderabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai - for over two decades, I notice that the tendency to throw all norms of etiquette and sanity is a recent phenomenon.
I can still remember that driving an Amby or a Fiat post sunset was not a safe or a comfortable matter. Then came these 'Lumax' kind of companies and products that initially gave better and powerful beam of light - bringing driving to greater comforts in the nights.
What we have now, I have reasons to believe is an 'over drive'! Strong and sharp blue lights, halogen bulbs, cars that have three pairs of headlights and fog lights. (If were to be Delhi in Mid December, these fog lights have a meaning. Catch drivers using this in peak summer in Chennai - to sync with their blaring stereo car music!). While these are meant for selective use at chosen stretch of roads, city drivers tend to use all these together!
Even Lord Shiva 'Trinethra' is said to have three eyes. These vehicles turn monsters with innumerable eyes.
The drivers too come in all kinds and varieties. The Amby cabbie loves to hurt your cornea - be it from the front or the rear! The Indica cabbie goes few paces ahead, in the way he'd zip past and blink --- full - dip -- full - dip! You'd have only split second to fathom he's coming and wants you out of his way!!
Optra, City, Skoda kinds would drive through their graceful speed and would come as 'sharp-shooters'. The damage to your retina will be within a 'needle-spot' location!
Not to forget the mofussil Mahindra make-believe mini-vans. With black spot-painted headlight their glare would spread like a halo!
Driving back from work-place, I've had often moments to stop and teach many such people, some basic lessons. I'd freeze the car in the middle of the road, and they'd slow down. I'd pull down my glass and indicate with my hands and fingers to dip. I'd alternate the lever from dip to full-beam. Nothing worked.
Furious of the ill-mannered sun-set drivers, I decided I will venture out to carry out 'tit-for-tat', for one whole week. I went out to similarly hurt into driver's eyes, blindening them, the old bandicoots would not budge! Few injured souls sought protection and would indicate me to 'dip'. NOT ME FELLOWS - I yelled and drove with vengeance!
Two or three days - I'd have driven this way. While I was beginning to enjoy like the 'Khalnayak', I began wondering that this was an 'alien behavior within me'! If soem one could make me blind, do I have the right to turn aggressive and make the rest turn blind? I questioned myself - and found an answer in the negative.
Soon I was back to my own self. The best I could do was to have a new pair of glass with UV coating and anti-reflective lens!
Now I wonder what ever happened to the innumerable drives that Police Department embarked upon for this issue? They get water down so soon and many such campaigns never seem to sustain!
Many years ago, in one of the TV programmes, I had witnessed a farmer who had fixed a simple gadget on his tractor. This device was capable of setting of an electronic signal onto an 'in coming' tractor and turn to 'dip' the headlight of that vehicle! WOW!!! Why is it that global car manufacturers or even law-enforcing agencies are not developing on this innovation, making it an in-built mandatory component of the vehicle?!
I'm sure....they must be waiting for all (drivers) to turn blind?!
© Va Si Ramana., all rights reserved.
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