That day, on my way to school, I found myself aboard my dad’s motorbike. My van driver had an emergency and couldn’t come to pick me up, my brother was away north on a trip with his friends and my father left earlier than usual for work. I was only learning to ride a bike at that time, there were a number of high speed traffic roads to be crossed and there was very little time left to reach the school where an exam awaited me. I didn’t know how tense this first time experience of riding a motorcycle would get.
I got on the bike, my feet barely touching the ground. I kicked once; twice; thrice; a little harder the fourth time, almost tipping over on the other side, but start it did and thus I began my journey. I showed all the signs of a noob rider; I went slow, panic-braking at every little thing, pulling the clutch without letting off the throttle, or releasing it suddenly and causing a jerk. I kept hoping to miss the occasional traffic jams, to go slow and steady until I smoothly reached my destination. But whatever wrong can happen, will happen I guess. Approaching a cross-road, I could see traffic clustered in the middle; cars against cars, desperately fighting their way out of the mess; deafening horns blowing continuously accompanied by occasional shouting and cursing from the drivers. Out of the frying pan and into the fire I thought.
I couldn’t turn back, given I wasn’t confident enough to make my way through the oncoming traffic had I turned, and even if I could, the alternative route would have cost me 15 more minutes which I couldn’t afford, without considering the possibility of another traffic jam. Reluctantly, I decided to dive into the stuck traffic. It was a nightmare; I lost sense of where I was and where I should be; cars and bikes constantly rushing past me while I struggled to make way. I came upon the actual crossing where traffic from all four roads met each other. There was a window of car-less space. I tried to move through quickly, stalling the bike instead. I started it again, this time on the third try. I tried to get through on the next opportunity, this time being more careful, but the bike seemed too heavy to move. A very loud train-horn from the car behind me honked furiously, along with a sharp voice shouting at me “Move it already, boy!”. I had reached my breaking point; the stress was to much for me to go through.
Suddenly, I heard another sharp yet kind voice from my left, coming from a rickshaw driver. “It’s alright. Take it easy, it’s fine”, he said. Those words seem like a soothing blow of breeze against my face. I looked at him; a sun-burnt, wrinkled, mid-40s face was turned towards me with an assuring expression on it.
“You’re in second gear,” he said, “shift one down”. And I did. The bike was now light as usual. I was amazed at how he could judge that just by looking at the bike move. He brought his rickshaw halfway forward, blocking the car making its way from our left. “Come alongside me” he said, and I obliged. The car on his left honked, so did the one behind him since he had stopped, but he paid no heed to either of them. Gradually, one step at a time, he kept clearing path for me throughout that mess, patiently too since I stalled twice more, causing both of use to be downright drowned in the ensuing curses and honks. I was indifferent to everything around me, falling into sort of a trance, with my focus only on that sharp and kind voice, doing everything it asked me to. It ended, nevertheless, and when the traffic thinned down and I prepared to carry on my journey he pulled up to me and asked “Can you go on from here?”. I managed a weak “Yes, thank you”. He nodded and pulled away, leaving me wishing I had brought this short apprenticeship of ours to a better conclusion.
This made me realize how much seemingly trivial actions can mean to someone else. We all need to hear a few kind words every once in a while. We all need someone to hold our hand and walk us through that little road that we find tough to tread on. You don’t have to have large sums of money or influential powers to help someone. What matters is recognizing the needs of others; lighting the little candles on your part. A little nod, or a smile, or a compliment can brighten up someone else’s world if they feel alone or anxious. Particularly if they are on a stalled bike in the middle of Lahori traffic.
hahaha xD