After clearing the usual morning load of work, I'd taken time off to attend the wedding of Chakki, the daughter of a classmate and course mate of mine. Another friend of mine had expressed his desire to accompany us and it wasn't long before he had joined us and we're off to the venue without realising as to what we're in for.
The MG road, which is the main arterial road of the town, was jammed hopelessly with vehicles piled up choc-a-bloc and waiting eagerly for the chaos to untangle at the earliest. The traffic policemen on the beat were hard pressed and the restraint they showed in handling errant drivers was remarkable. It took quite a while for us to reach the venue but by the time we'd reached there, the marriage ceremony had been conducted. We could only apologise to the new couple for not having arrived on time. And I shall never forget the quip - "you're the nearest and have still managed to come late" - by one of our friends and I could only return a sheepish grin as a plausible reply!
And what was the reason for the monumental traffic snarl? Thousands of members of the 'kudumbi' community had organised a 'rail roko' movement and also taken to the streets causing blockage of traffic, in anger, at the government's decision of excluding the community from the list of the scheduled castes!
Tailpiece.
The roads have been dug up for laying underground cables and in addition, the surface has taken a beating, exposing cracks and holes at various places. Driving through these roads, during the thick of the monsoon - which is just around the corner - is gonna be very difficult. It's the same story as it was last time! And somebody had said that the roads, this time, have been surfaced to international(?) standards. You, got to be joking!
The MG road, which is the main arterial road of the town, was jammed hopelessly with vehicles piled up choc-a-bloc and waiting eagerly for the chaos to untangle at the earliest. The traffic policemen on the beat were hard pressed and the restraint they showed in handling errant drivers was remarkable. It took quite a while for us to reach the venue but by the time we'd reached there, the marriage ceremony had been conducted. We could only apologise to the new couple for not having arrived on time. And I shall never forget the quip - "you're the nearest and have still managed to come late" - by one of our friends and I could only return a sheepish grin as a plausible reply!
And what was the reason for the monumental traffic snarl? Thousands of members of the 'kudumbi' community had organised a 'rail roko' movement and also taken to the streets causing blockage of traffic, in anger, at the government's decision of excluding the community from the list of the scheduled castes!
Tailpiece.
The roads have been dug up for laying underground cables and in addition, the surface has taken a beating, exposing cracks and holes at various places. Driving through these roads, during the thick of the monsoon - which is just around the corner - is gonna be very difficult. It's the same story as it was last time! And somebody had said that the roads, this time, have been surfaced to international(?) standards. You, got to be joking!
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