Let's Go !

It was 5.21 pm in the evening. My tuition class was over. I trooped out, weary and tired. My parents were going to pick me up at 5.30, so I had to wait until then. I stood by the roadside, at the usual spot. The sun had just set, and the colour in the sky was that wonderful mix of azure and orange that makes you feel wistful for no reason. There was a gentle breeze blowing, the kind that generally blows at 5.30 in the evening. My eyes were tired due to concentrating in class for such a long time and my face muscles were twitching in a tired sort of a way. The breeze was ruffling my hair the way a grandmother would fondle her grandchild. It was surreal. I watched the cars whizzing by, with black smoky trails following most of them. The murmur of the traffic, the occasional blaring of horns and the sounds of the few odd birds in the sky could be heard in the backdrop. As I said before, it was surreal.

The approaching road that would bring my parents' car had an undulating path. I stared at the point from where the cars were emerging one by one, like Ursula Andress from the sea. It was the same pattern. First, I would see the tires and the number plate. Then, slowly, the windshield would appear and simultaneously the tires would disappear as the car crossed the curve. And then the whole car. I kept looking at the same spot waiting for the car to arrive. It was 5.30 now, yet, no car. I kept looking at the cars. An Esteem, then a Zen, then 2 motorcycles, then an Ikon, then a rickshaw. I looked at the wrist watch again. It was 5.40 now. I reverted my gaze to the horizon of the road. Then, far in the distance, I saw it. Even though I could not see the inhabitants or the number plate, I recognized the car. I straightened my frame, all 6 feet 3 inches of it, and raised my arm to signal where I was. My eyes were fixed on the car, as it manoeuvred itself through the traffic, changing lanes so that it could come to where I was standing. I dropped my hand and took a step forward onto the road in anticipation. Suddenly, a rickshaw came to a screeching halt and stopped right in my face. I looked at it closely - it was a Garuda, a shared rickshaw. Ah ! Some idiotic passenger must have felt the need to get down immediately. I started walking around the rickshaw to go and sit in my car which was waiting just behind. As I was passing the side, I turned to the rickshawalla to give him an angry look. To my surprise, he was looking at me expectantly. I wondered to myself, what now ? You stop in my path and expect me to apologize ? I looked at the passengers. There was one girl, 2 ladies and 1 man, and all of them were looking at my expectantly too. Expecting me to do what, I wondered again. Then I realized that no one had got off the rickshaw. There was this moment, when I was looking at them and they were looking at me.

Then, I neatly stepped around the rickshaw in a dignified manner, sat down in the car, looked at my father and said, "Hmm. Lets go !"