On the Road

Driving is a passion for many! Speeding the car, overtaking the vehicles racing ahead, offering no side to that which sounds horn from behind, enjoying the smooth road and cursing the rough one, gearing up to the top when no obstacle forbids your path and slowing down to climb up the slopes, so on and so forth.

Have you ever made attempts to relate a car journey (or any vehicle) with the journey of life?

Let us start the car! You are in the driving seat. First, adjust your seat and fasten your seat belt. Yes! The roller coaster is ready to take off. Slowly insert the key (kindly ignore, if you have a keyless one), apply the clutch, start the engine, release the handbrake and into the lane and off you go!  Drivers who are not seasoned might find the vehicle jerking and coming to an abrupt stop if the clutch is not applied properly. The current generation are in a hurry to accomplish their wants in a matter of a second. Remember to start slowly (Slow and steady wins the race). Once you are on the move, you shall not directly shift from the first gear to the top unless you have not picked a certain speed. Similarly, do not expect the trumpet of triumph to be blown for you so quickly. (“One day, I woke up and found myself famous” may not be possible). One must be in a mad pursuit of success with perseverance, diligence, determination and consistent hard work. (Rome was not built in a day)

Three mirrors and one see-through glass are guides to a driver. Have you not ever wondered that a lion’s share of the view will be through the front glass and occasionally, if necessary, the rear-view mirrors are glanced at? We have a habit of regretting the past, oblivious to the present, thereby treading past lovely little moments unattended. What an irrelevant and fruitless journey it would be if the lakes, mountains, gardens and the sky are ignored without being devoured? What would happen if the driver takes the vehicle forward by looking at the back view mirror? Will he be able to reach the destination in time and without being met with any accident? Stop worrying about what happened in the past and start living each and every moment as you would die in the next few seconds! Life is beautiful. Learn to cherish it.

You sped faster once you find a car behind you, attempting to overtake you or you find another ahead of you to be overtaken. Suppose, you are speeding at 100km/hr (Speed thrills but kills!) and happen to hear an ambulance siren. What would you do? Undoubtedly, you apply brakes and slowly bring down to the third gear or even lower. We have to give in ourselves in terms of love, friendship, family, we have to slow down, for one’s own or others sake. There is pleasure when you admit that you made a mistake, you feel sorry and you feel cheered because you brought a smile of satisfaction on the cheeks of your beloved ones.

Driving along rubberized roads are left unnoticed. But, the moment you switch to a route with an exasperatingly unrepaired one, you start realizing how smooth the drive until then was. Do not wait to realize the beauty of life until one encounters the dark and bleak side of life. Life will not always be as good as it used to be!

 Finally, we have come across several traffic jams and road blocks which have brought shades of doubts in us about how long it would take to cross these hurdles. But, remember we have had many. Those were, though not easily, gotten over. Life at times, seems to stand still. Life throws hardships and challenges. Life seems to be covered with thick nights. Be mindful, we have reached the destinations by crossing signal lights, roadblocks and traffic jams!

Ms. Saritha. K

Head, Department of English, Al Shifa College of Arts and Science