On the way to my office, I have to cross the most dense traffic of the city. Every day is a new challenge. And thanks to the repair works, even the footpaths are occupied by mud, slosh and huge circular pipes (God knows when they will finally be sent into the ground, and free up the footpath). So, the frustration levels of us commuters have crossed the limits.

The bike people: Now, the bikers are a bored lot. They just stand on the roads, and honk. While not moving, they are busy cleaning their rear-view mirrors, checking their smart phones for new notifications (Come on, everyone else you know is either also stuck in traffic or sleeping), looking at other bikes and cars while keeping a tab on the countdown on the traffic light. The countdown is like the start of a bike race. People start their engines at the count of 10, and slowly nudge forward and cross the lines already by the count of 5. Some people zoom ahead at the count of 3, and the idiots like me, don’t move an inch unless they see the green lights. But the funny thing is, somewhere down the road, I make a point to overtake all those who made a head-start. That gives me immense satisfaction, and is my way of enjoying the traffic. It even feels a lot better on the days when I am on my bicycle.

The car people: Well, they have already been past the frustration limits. They have accepted the traffic, and it’s troubles. They don’t care how much time it takes for them to reach their destinations any more. A car these days, might have a pair of faulty brakes, but their radio and the speakers would always be in prime condition. And the Radio stations, you have so many of them, you can actually tune in to your favorite song for just about any situation. The people on the 4 wheels are not as bored. Rather, it’s quite a comfortable ride for them. Just some time for themselves, their only alone time. It’s like being castaway, with a radio, and a smart phone.

The bus people:, first fight for boarding the already overcrowded buses. They fight for a seat. They fight to get a ticket and to get back their change from the conductor. They fight to get down at their stops. The only time when they are not fighting during their journey is when they manage to get a short nap, be it sitting or standing. The nap makes all these fights worth the effort. When they finally reach their destination, they are charged up, all because of this power nap. For that, I consider themselves the luckiest people on the roads.

People on foot: Now, the pedestrians are the happy lot. At-least they have got a few inches on the footpaths for themselves, which otherwise was being used as motor bike trails. More traffic is always better for them, since they can now cross the roads easily. The footpaths now have more space to walk on. The only thing that is bad for them is the copious white and black fumes that gets thrown on their faces. You can see most of them change into their “Daaku” costumes before they step out of their houses.

The rest: You must be wondering who else would be facing the troubles of traffic!!! Those four wheeled motor-less vehicles… No, not the hand carts. The four-legged animals. Yesterday, I saw a herd of cattle stuck in the middle of the road among vehicles all around them. And they were just clueless and stood their until the road got cleared. The only difference between them and the humans, they didn’t honk even once, unlike us.