Lawlessness in the concrete jungle

Life in the jungle would be exciting, adventurous, dangerous, relaxing - but mostly fair. Survival of the fittest it may be, but the laws of the jungle prevail. A wild cat wouldn't hunt just for fun, neither would an animal attack unless provoked. One may imagine that it is a dangerous, scary world out there, but experience, caution and respect goes a long way in nature.

On the other hand, life in the city is chaotic and unfair. The rude and oppressive thrive, while the gentle, fair and respectful are trodden upon. A decent upbringing has no value any more, it has become "in" to be abusive, violent and disrespectful.

A recent addition to my home, Sultan a 6 month old rough collie, was left in the custody of my parents for a couple of weeks since I was on a visit to Germany. Being a young and energetic puppy, he needs his share of exercise and my father religiously took him out for a walk twice a day. One evening he walked past a group of young boys playing cricket, and they showed some interest in the dog, asking what he was called. My father spoke jovially, and announced his name as that of a king's - "SULTAN". As my father walked away, the cricket ball hit him on his back, an incident which my father preferred to believe was an accident. The next day, as he was walking by, the same group of children decided to further their game by throwing stones at my father and dog! On confrontation, there were lies, denial, and laughter, not a sign of remorse at having thrown stones at an elderly man, a fellow human being, and a young puppy.

Here's another story - a close friend of mine was visiting my family while I was holidaying in Pune. At the end of her stay, I was dropping her off to her parents house, take a route through a quiet residential layout (Model colony). My days of racing and speed are past me, and I prefer a steady pace while navigating through the city. I was at an intersection, and making my way around a circle, when a two wheeler overtook me at top speed. It was a young woman, all covered up in her bandit-like mask, with her mother sitting behind her, seated sideways with both her legs on the same side of the seat. She was abreast with the car on the right, when she realized that I was going around the circle and she wanted to turn off to the left. I stopped immediately, giving her space to cross over, but she lost her balance and tumbled onto the ground with her mother.

I stopped the car immediately, pulled the window down as I was unbuckling my seat belt to step out and help them. However, they both were up on their feet within a couple of seconds, and the young lady strode up to the car, screaming at me at the top of her voice, implying that it was my fault. Her mask remained on her face, and the only thing we could make out from her was the string of abuses she kept hurling at us.
Even though I didn't think I was at fault, I realized she must be in shock and wasn't interested in a confrontation. I remained calm, and even apologized when she insisted that I was in the wrong. As soon as she sensed that I wasn't being aggressive in the situation, she flung her arm into the car window and whacked my head, right across my forehead, eye and cheekbone. I blanked out for 10-15 seconds, I couldn't see a thing except darkness in every direction, and could only hear loud and oppressive voices all around my head. My friend was now defending me, but her concern for me prevented her from stepping out of the vehicle and continuing the fight.

When I could finally open my eyes, I was aware of the mother looking at me with concern and embarrassment, pulling her daughter away so they could flee the scene. My instant reaction was to leave the unpleasant situation as soon as possible, and I didn't gather my wits quick enough to hold her responsible for her behaviour. I should have taken her to the police for physical assault.

I drove about a hundred metres and was overcome with rage, anger at doing nothing and allowing this to happen to me. That moment, I am not sure I would have the sanity to control my actions, had she still been present in front of me. This is the kind of irresponsible behaviour that triggers violence and road rage.

My only take-away from these incidents is to stop being decent on the streets, or you'll only get punished for it. Don't make conversation, don't smile at people, even children, and worst of all, never stop to help somebody who has had a fall. My next purchase is a pepper spray, and the next time I am in an accident, even if it is my fault, I am going to drive away and never bother to help. I apologize now, to the few decent people out there, who may suffer my inconsideration in the future, I've learnt the hard way and maybe they need to do the same too.

Sometimes it feels like a better life to risk being hunted down by a pack of wild dogs, than try and put up with this farce of civilization and society.

Country for sale

I spent a relaxing month with my mother here in Germany, we travelled a little, did some sightseeing, but most enjoyable times were spent taking walks in the countryside. The countryside I talk about isn't particularly made up of stunning landscapes, or snow clad peaks – this is good old plain countryside – farmlands and meadows, with little streams flowing in between. There are patches of scrub and forest land that belongs to nobody, where one comes across an occasional cottage with a modest façade and an apple tree in the backyard. Fruits on the trees are available for all to eat, and nobody will complain if you pick a few raspberries from the bushes along the path. The streams and rivers are clean, and ducks paddle up and down. Now and then one sees families riding bicycles, or dogs playing fetch bounding across a field – simple pleasures that suddenly seem like impossible luxuries.

Forests and meadows

Like I have mentioned before, I grew up in NCL colony, in a beautiful big house with the slopes of the hill behind blending naturally into our backyard. We couldn’t see the neighbour’s house – as the foliage in between was too dense! Family outings were on bicycles, cycling down to NDA or towards Balewadi – the sports stadium that was built for the 1994 National games, located on the Pune bypass. Even beyond, was Nature Trails camp, run by Leela and Ashok Broome – this is the place I went to for my first ever nature camp, its a farm that was considered to be located far outside the city. The closest village from this farm that had more than 10 homes was called Hinjewadi, and we had to remember the name so we could ask for the way in case we were lost on our bicycle route. There were many ways to get there, but one of the easier routes was to go down Pashan-Sus road, hit the highway, go past Balewadi, and turn at Wakad. Then on, it was a single lane road, and it was nicer to pedal on the side of the road on the mud track than in the middle which was semi laid and very bumpy. The whole route was pure and simple countryside, with very little plastic strewn around, where birds of all colours and sizes could be seen on trees and electric lines along the road, where we could feel lucky to see a snake wriggling across the road. In the monsoon, these places would be covered with little waterfalls, and the electric green could make spirits soar.

The good old days

The countryside in Germany reminds me often of those days, where the outdoors was simple, open for all to enjoy, and belonged to nobody.

My parents home is now in an apartment complex on the same Pashan-Sus road. This was one of the first apartment complexes to come there, and now the road is bustling with cars, apartments, banks, supermarkets – you name it! 

A couple of years ago I caught a watchman killing a snake in the apartment, unfortunately it was already too late, as the snake had very little life left in it by then. In response to my outrage and fury, he explained that there were children in the area and it was unsafe to have a snake around. One look at the snake told me it was a wolf snake – completely harmless, and possibly the last one left in the area thanks to the ruthless development that has taken place. Not many years ago, the number of snakes on this road would have far outnumbered the humans.

A wolf snake in happier times

The roads we once went cycling on, now lead to an enormous IT park – Hinjewadi is well known in Pune, with its wide roads, well lit software complexes, high end security and endless facility. The roads are famous for accidents and carjacking incidents. Today, cycling on these roads would probably equal suicide. Every other road around Pune suffers a similar fate. The open fields, patches of scrub jungle and beautiful hill slopes are now replaced by buildings and exposed rock where great excavations are in progress, to make it more suitable for a cutting edge software park or luxury apartment complex. There remains no place where one could take a peaceful walk, taking in the countryside, without worrying about trespassing on private property. Everything is now private property, all the countryside we grew up in now suddenly belongs to somebody. Who sold this land? Who ever owned it – there never were fences in these places! The whole landscape seems to be getting divided into neat little plots, and you need to buy it to enjoy it! Those who have the money to buy it, immediately surround themselves with a high wall, a watchman, flatten the ground out and build themselves a garish house where they can enjoy every urban luxury without having to step out of the door. Of course – this is only a weekend getaway, and the place remains locked up all week long. 

Wonderful countrysides of once-upon-a-time

I like to believe that the wonderful nature that we are blessed to have in our country is tough to equal. It is frustratingly difficult to understand how our educated middle class can throw all this away in their race for affluence. Where is the country that I belong to, where I can feel free to roam and breathe in the fresh air? Where did it disappear?