In the space of five minutes four taxi drivers had already refused to take me to college. The distance apparently was not worth their while. As I spotted the fifth taxi speeding towards me, I noticed a well dressed man walking down the street.
The strangeness that caught my eye was not in his appearance but was prominent in his manner. He would cross the road, sit on the pavement and then frown at his watch. Suddenly he would spring up and run as if his life depended on the pace he could muster. He would then slow down again look at his watch, frown at the road and proceed to sit down again. Later he would cross the road and repeat the actions in the exact same pattern on the other side of the road.
I lost interest in getting a taxi and sat down on a nearby bench; all the while observing this man. On close observation, I saw that his shirt was in fact dirty and the strange colour of his hair was not god given but was dusty because of actual dirt. Then why was this man in such a hurry? The only hurry he should be in was probably to get under a shower. He obviously did not notice me as he was so absorbed in frowning at his watch. Then someone came and sat next to me, she probably like me was interested in observing people. She looked at me and stated flatly ‘I think he is insane.’
What makes someone lose his sanity? This was the question that was left in my mind as I got up to leave still looking at the decently dressed man.
The next taxi driver I met was quite willing to take me to my destination. As I looked out of the window, I noticed the pace at which the city was moving. A sad smile came on my face when I thought of that decently dressed man who had failed to keep pace and now was desperately trying to make up for lost time.
The strangeness that caught my eye was not in his appearance but was prominent in his manner. He would cross the road, sit on the pavement and then frown at his watch. Suddenly he would spring up and run as if his life depended on the pace he could muster. He would then slow down again look at his watch, frown at the road and proceed to sit down again. Later he would cross the road and repeat the actions in the exact same pattern on the other side of the road.
I lost interest in getting a taxi and sat down on a nearby bench; all the while observing this man. On close observation, I saw that his shirt was in fact dirty and the strange colour of his hair was not god given but was dusty because of actual dirt. Then why was this man in such a hurry? The only hurry he should be in was probably to get under a shower. He obviously did not notice me as he was so absorbed in frowning at his watch. Then someone came and sat next to me, she probably like me was interested in observing people. She looked at me and stated flatly ‘I think he is insane.’
What makes someone lose his sanity? This was the question that was left in my mind as I got up to leave still looking at the decently dressed man.
The next taxi driver I met was quite willing to take me to my destination. As I looked out of the window, I noticed the pace at which the city was moving. A sad smile came on my face when I thought of that decently dressed man who had failed to keep pace and now was desperately trying to make up for lost time.
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1 comment:
interesting how you transformed a small incident in a day into a thought so profound.. :)
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