AFTER ending my day at college, the moment I stepped outdoors, I felt the summer heat in full force as the sharp piercing sun singed my skin and I dashed towards the parking lot. Getting inside the car, I switched on the air con, the cool air brushed across my face and calmed me in minutes. Putting the car in gear I started for home. We are always in a cheerful mood when we head back home and music being my second love, my phone automatically connected to the music system and soothing music started streaming down which calmed my jangled nerves. I could see people rushing and trying to reach their nests and take refuge from the sizzling sun. And then there were some carrying on with their daily chores unmindful of the harsh weather. My route was practically deserted as I prefer taking the long one where I don’t have to encounter traffic signals or heavy traffic.

I reached my locality in fifteen minutes and behold what do I see! The main thoroughfare was completely blocked by two huge vehicles, and on the side of the road a mammoth pendal was erected where an enormous quantity of food was laid out in huge open vessels. A sizable crowd had gathered and hundreds of people were consuming the food. Two massive speakers were installed with generator backups and people were dancing bang on the middle of the road, creating chaos, nuisance and in general, havoc in the entire, otherwise peaceful residential area.

I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was litter strewn everywhere, traffic jam had started occurring gradually, the people who were stopping to partake the free food were carelessly parking their two wheelers wherever they desired. Dozens of urchins too had gathered running around recklessly as if they were playing in the park. No one seemed to care about the discomfort and inconvenience they were causing to the general public. I was appalled at their callous behaviour. I had to take a detour to reach my residence. On enquiring from my building guard, the reason of this chaos and ruckus, I was told that it was some religious festival on that day and hence the entire thoroughfare had been blocked for the entire day and things would get cleared only in the evening.

Talk about someone testing the levels of your endurance and human nature of goodness! The great philosopher Confucius has said that, ‘Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society.’ So why don’t we understand that a road is meant to accommodate the movement of vehicles so that traffic can be regulated in a smooth manner. People need to know that no matter what we do we cannot become a nuisance value for the general public, we cannot disrupt the normal flow of traffic and under no circumstances can we use public thoroughfare for our personal or community get togethers or functions or any such event that greatly disrupts normal flow of life and activities. Having a little consideration and thought for others goes a long way. This world will be a much better place if each of us simply follow this one simple principle of life: Live and let live, in harmony, without inconveniencing others, in empathy and peaceful co-existence.