Reaching out to Na Maloom Afrad …. and Post-Its saved the day

Reaching out to Na Maloom Afrad …. and Post-Its saved

the day  

Karachi traffic has been getting worse. There was a time when my Karachite friends used to declare Lahore traffic as crazy. I think Karachi didn’t like the edge Lahore had over her and decided to upstage Lahore. Well here we are with traffic conditions in Karachi reaching crazy heights.

However this story is not about lamenting Karachi’s unruly traffic, or its bad rule ignoring citizens or even the bad Na Maloom Afrad, (well they can be good too!). It’s about communication.

On my way to work, which is situated in a posh Clifton locality, I was extremely irritated to see my way blocked by a car parked right in the middle of a u turn. Let me clarify, this u-turn, facilitates smooth traffic flow and frequent traffic bottle-necks created due to location of schools and colleges in residential localities in Karachi. Due to this problem, many such schools have taken it upon themselves to regulate the traffic associated with their institutions, to minimize trouble for the residents and other citizens in the vicinity, as has the institution I work for. For this purpose there is a board visually indicating the u-turn. You can imagine my irritation on finding the car in question parked across this area. An inquiry directed to the guards and chowkidaar of my institution revealed that the car belonged to a resident of the adjacent apartments. I requested them to inform the chowkidaar of the building in question to ask the resident to remove the car.

Car parked outside my workplace

The next morning the car was parked in the same place. Irritated I marched upto the guard and demanded an explanation. I was told the chowkidaar of the building in question did not know who the car belonged to, however the guards had conveyed the message. “Try again” I told him and walked into work fuming at the apathy, cooking up plans of vengeance at the car owner. “Deflate the tyres” a suggestion by a colleague, caught my fancy and the whole day I gleefully imagining the face of the person walking of out their comfy apartment the next morning and finding a flat tyre. Yes I would have my revenge. This would be my plan of action for tomorrow.  The whole night I actually looked forward to the act of deflating the tyre, almost savouring the imagined reactions of the car owner.

The next morning fulfilling my expectations, the car was parked right across my way blocking the approach to the u-turn. Almost rubbing my hands in glee I got of my car, ready to put my plan into implementation. However a small niggling voice struggled through my bubble of vengeance. Like Jimminy Cricket of Pinochio, the voice cautioned me about an eye for an eye approach. Irritated with this righteous voice I tried to push it away. I was so close to act of driving the pin I carried in my bag into the tyre and see the air slowly go out of the tyre. I wanted to experience the satisfaction of causing as much inconvenience to the car owner as I had experienced for Three days. The voice wouldn’t give up, it kept poking, “how are you any better,” it asked? “It’s not about who is better”, I replied irritated beyond limits. “You just want revenge,” the voice quipped. “No I want to teach a lesson,” I spat back. “Look at your methods…what will this yield…..a sense of reciprocal injury?” “Did the chowkidaar deliver the message?” This stopped me in my tracks. “Have you tried another method……have you tried enough,” it asked?

I slowly lowered my hand into my purse to put the pin into the bag, and my hand touched the Post-it I carry around with me amongst the other paraphernalia. You must have guessed what followed. I wrote a carefully worded message to the car owner and stuck it on the windscreen. As I walked into work that day a felt a lurking sense of having been cheated out of the satisfaction of seeing the tyre deflate when I pricked it with my pin.  You can’t be all good!

                                                               My little note to the owner 

The next morning there was no car blocking my way.

I would like to end this first by thanking the owner. thank you for reviving my faith in the power of communication and reaching out. And now by reflecting on what veteran actor Talat Hussain said recently, “The act of lying to oneself is reflective of a dead society and we are gradually developing into one.” (http://tribune.com.pk/epaper/) 

Communicating with the little voice inside might help us avoid this. But caution, you do feel cheated out of the vicious satifaction that you get when you indulge in that sweet thing called Revenge.