If Bengaluru gets a bouquet for its great weather, it also earns a brickbat for its horrific traffic snarl. There are just too many cars on the roads and if you are behind the wheels in search of that elusive route to reach your destination, you are bound to have a life-changing experience.
Yes, swimming in Bengaluru's traffic is a unique experience. In one word, it is 'terrible' but some things need to seen philosophically if the pain attached to them is high. And when we treat the matter with a mind of a philosopher, there evolves other ways of viewing a situation. It's fresh and revives the tired mindset of the motorist struggling on the asphalt.
I spend three to four hours everyday on Bengaluru's roads, trying to reach both office and home located 17 kilometres away. And during that period which gives me ample scope to turn a philosopher, I discover that certain things have undergone a change in my life, may be for the better.
Here are five things that I, and several other motorists like me, have learnt from Bengaluru's notorious traffic jams, which also grant credence to that old saying: Every crisis is an opportunity.
#1: Learned to become patient
First and foremost, Bengaluru traffic has taught me to become more patient. This is definitely a big improvement. From venting frustration by honking and shouting at jaywalkers and reckless drivers that they could never hear because the glasses were up, I have learnt to be at peace now, not caring much for the mundane world. Move as you find the space is the motto now. The growth of patience has helped me in other avenues of life as well. Thanks, Bengaluru's traffic!
#2: Have grown an ear for music
The second thing I have learnt from Bengaluru's traffic is growing an eye for good music, even in English. Sometimes, the songs played by the FM stations become so monotonous that I have made special collections of songs from yesteryears. As the traffic snarl extended, I needed to play more and more songs in my car stereo and one fine morning, I saw my knowledge about songs and the singers has multiplied impressively. Even I have developed an ear for English songs. Thanks again, Bengaluru's trffic.
#3: Have become a better driver
Thirdly, I have become a better driver. It wasn't that I was a novice when I first joined the 'survival of the fittest' competition being held on Bengaluru roads every single day (or I wouldn't have survived) but with each day's grinding, I have discovered that I have developed my skills at the wheel and also in temperament. Apart from the main roads, I now easily manoeuvre in narrow short-cut routes that have become such an important part of my life now. Earlier, I only envied the auto-rickshaws and bikers. Now, I can almost challenge them. Thanks to Bengaluru's traffic again!
#4: Have made new friends
Fourthly, it is because of Bengaluru's traffic that I have become friends with a couple of radio jockeys of the city. Yes, you heard it right. Some of their programmes are so entertaining that at times, I couldn't resist wishing them good luck or praising them for a joke they cracked. They are the only human beings that I get to listen to during those three-four hours 'in exile'. And as a gesture of reciprocation, I made friends with a few of them and they are really great people. Thanks to the city's traffic again. It made invisible people real.
#5: Have become more empathetic towards co-strugglers
Fifth and finally, I have become more empathetic towards people. Seeing a reckless taxi driver overtaking from the wrong side or disrupting my progress made me angry earlier and the BP went high. Now, after seeing and co-travelling with them everyday, I have started to see their desperate moves from a more sympathetic angle. Those guys are doing it round the clock and it is normal for them to have an unusual mindset.
In fact, I feel Bengaluru's traffic has quite a socialist character. In the city's slow-moving traffic, one finds people with a Jaguar or Audi sharing the limited space with a Maruti or Nano. The beggars are seen knocking the windows of both the super luxury cars as well as the ordinary ones meant for the humble middle class. People are seen interacting, sometimes as short-time friends (as common victims of the city's ill-managed traffic problem) or foes (in case one's vehicle hits another's), with each other irrespective of the class difference.
It is a microcosm of the utopian world where all stand in discipline and strive for their respective goals with patience. It teaches a lot about how we should behave in our real lives – with empathy, tolerance and the right temperament.
