The incident that I am about to narrate, happened some time ago when a lot many people were saved just in time by lack of time...
Confused ? Not for long though! Life is full of ironies and this, could very easily be counted as one of them.
Let me share this closely guarded secret , which tells us about that time when we were saved from a sinister conspiracy because of, of all the things - traffic jams! Yes those monstrous , good for nothing , all evil traffic jams!
Did I say- all evil? Everyone says there is a silver lining in every dark cloud, but very few of you would attribute that to jams, right? Missed flights, being late to office and schools, delivery of a baby in the taxi and dozen other should-not-have-been -all because of traffic jams and how could I even think of a silver lining here! But yes, this incident will force you become beliebers again, Oh no! believers I meant! Believers of miracles, of blessing in disguises and silver linings ...!
So ...the incident goes some what thus...
Some where in a dark corner of the underbelly of the city, three men were huddled before a map. In spite of the dim light, the gloom that hung around them could not be missed. The bearded man , who was their leader was shaking his head with disbelief... He was indeed perplexed -'Three dry runs and all of them left them high and dry!'
Leader - This is unbelievable! You were at least one and a half hour behind schedule in the first ! The second time you get lost in Chanakya puri and have to ask a policeman... of all the people, for directions and the third time you don't even reach your destination! How the hell will we succeed in our mission if we can't be on time?
Henchman - B..b..boss We seriously tried our best! but its difficult when we have a huge baggage with us to drag about and have to consciously look inconspicuous at the same time..And what with the jams! Its hard even being awake at that pace. Can you believe in fact I caught up with my lost sleep of the last month in these three days!
Lackey - Well, can't we take the metro? Its faster and no jams there!
Leader - Aaargh! Does he have to show which country he is from, the moment he opens his mouth to speak? And how do you think we manage the baggage in the security check? As if the CCTVs of metros weren't enough , now they have them all over the city...Sigh!What about hired cars?
Henchman- Er.. cars were the reason we could not reach on time on day 2 and 3.
Leader - Then how had you come on Day 1? Maybe you can manage better the next time by that means?.
Hench man- We took the autorickshaw that time...but auto rickshawwalas are talkative and one more story from him , I swear I could have killed him then and there. I had such a bad headache that I could not focus on my work after that. 15 mins were lost simply deciding whether to go by meter or by pre-decided rate... Again Autowallas are like GPS they take you to your destination through the weirdest and longest route possible. And this Goddamn city seems to have jams at every hour and at every corner
Lackey - Well there is a way we can avoid the jams?
Both the leader and henchman looked up at him hopefully . Could this idiot really deliver a plan?
But this isn't a movie! Idiots remain idiots forever ..usually.
Lackey - Well how about we change our schedule to around somewhere late night or early morning? There will not be any jams... The roads will be clear!
Henchman - Idiot! There will also not be any people either. This is Delhi , not Mumbai or Bangalore. People go home early here. Did someone say this is a sex starved city ? Either its for sex or they are starved and all they want to do is be home and stuff... Who do we kill then? Dogs? And bring on the ire of animal rights people? As if POTA wasn't enough , now you want PETA too? (The henchmen surely did try his best to throw some smart lines ...though in vain)
Lackey - then what do we do? Or should we just let it loose in the jam?
Henchman growling - Idiot this isn't a suicide mission. and the stuff is the last we got. Its becoming difficult getting the stuff across too. Trucks are still caught in a jam in the highway. By the time they reach the destination something or the other always goes wrong. We have lost our trucks to our own dynamite. We cannot let it loose anywhere just like that without a focus or target. We have a target...we need to focus there.
Leader -pensively - Wait he does have a point. Why don't we take our positions at night itself..
Henchman-But sir the longer we are seen there at location , more risky it becomes.
Leader - Let it be. Risks are what we had pledged for. And we really don't have any option either. The mission is important.It has to go ahead at any cost ..yes we will move at 2 am...We will take positions with our camouflages and listen be careful with your camouflages and disguises. The key is in being inconspicuous. The last time one of you had acted so raving mad and attracted so many stares...Its a miracle that the asylum people didn't turn up. See you have to pass of as a traveler going to the railway station.. We take an auto inconspicuously, get down at the station and we walk the last kilometer from there inconspicuously in the dark...
Both the henchman and the lackey let out a groan at that as walking meant trudging with the contraption which was indeed heavy.
Lackey - But why don't we take the auto directly there?
Leader - Do you want us to be traced you idiot? During the day time, in a crowd it is fine but at night, everybody will remember or suspect.
Both the henchman and the lackey fell glumly silent. Secretly they might have been wishing for a jam so as to avoid the walk.
"Fine ! the leader clapped his hands decisively . "He is scheduled to make an appearance at 11 am. And the best thing is we wont be late this time. This will be a piece of cake! He is an idealistic moron, to waive off the security . With almost no security , we can take them out once and for all and some bonus body counts too... Yes finally".
So what happened next- wondering that? How were we saved? Was there a casualty? or more? What about the disaster?
Fortunately for them, they were on time . There was not a hitch that time! The autowala spoke less drove more. No jams, and no police patrol either. The city is a beautiful place to drive at night.They inconspicuously de-boarded from the autorickshaw and after a few mins took a detour to their location looking like inconspicuous migrants just arriving in Delhi. Morning went uneventfully , they blended with the crowd...It seemed that the desired ending was near ...just within the grasp ...and then...
Well , the target never could make it to the location . He was caught in a never ending jam and had to cancel his appearance altogether , not even postpone or defer it.. The jam was too much for the important person to handle. He had to be hospitalized for the fatigue and dehydration. The mission was put on an eternal pause though it did achieve their aims partially! The target and his coterie did actually reach the hospital casualty but not in a manner intended
Jams...the saviour for a day!
No comments:
Post a Comment