It was a day like no other. I woke up in the morning at around nine to the deafening sound of silence all around me. The hustle and bustle of a city rampant with people - the tell-tale sounds of shops opening their shutters for the day's business, the screams of the vendors, the screech of automobiles as they grind to a halt in inching traffic - were missing. I was disoriented for a while; was I really awake? Was I home in Bangalore? Then it struck me - yes, I was home and wide awake, and today was the day Bangalore was supposed to sleep. The so-called "Bundh" had made the flatlands of Mars appear to be teeming with life!
On my way to work at around two in the afternoon (Yeah, I work for a newspaper, and my day begins at three!), the roads looked so lifeless, not a single vehicle in sight. Hell, not a single soul in sight! I was craving, itching for a cigarette, and no shop was open! I could barely control the urge! I was half-toying with the idea of sucking on the exhaust of my bike, when I passed an army R&D headquarters. Gambling on an idea, I went inside and headed straight to the army's surplus canteen. I asked for cigarettes, and lo and behold! I got cigarettes! Whew! Next time, if a bundh is anounced beforehand, I advice all smokers to load themselves up the previous day! You may not be as lucky as I was!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment