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.
