Anger

Anger, an enemy who cannot be defeated. All of us go through the phase of losing your composure now and then. And soon enough, we regret things we did in anger. There is a proverb that says, 'Haste makes waste'. Similarly losing your temper makes mess. Nothing good comes from anger and we mostly end up taking bad decisions. We do things and say words that are not meant to be. Words have their pros and cons. When used correctly words could be profitable for all means of your life. At the same time, when misused may demean you, shatter relationships and sometimes leave a deep wound that lasts for years.

I encountered an incident recently which made me realize the ill effects of losing temper. I was commuting to my office via public transport. The bus I was in was new and it must have been introduced to this commute recently. The bus driver used its condition to his advantage and drove it above average speed. There were sudden stops and bumps throughout the journey. There were instances where people were forced to jump from their seats to almost touch the support rods for standers. People got their heads hit the front seats due to sudden stops and the driver didn't seem to understand the concept of speed breakers. People started cursing the driver to nearby people and after a point got adjusted to the situation.

There was a very narrow street in between where only one bus can go at a time. Since it was not a one-way road, drivers had to either leave way or wait for the driver in the opposite direction to leave way. Our driver on seeing a bus in the opposite direction tried to race through the street before them. It was a scary experience, but somehow, he made it. But on the pursuit, he smashed one of the side mirrors of a motorbike parked nearby. The bike's owner was a young man in his early twenties. On seeing the bus breaking his bike's side mirror he immediately sprang and boarded into the running bus. He asked the driver to stop the bus and pay him compensation for the bike's damage. But the driver didn't give a damn thing about the bike guy's bellowing. He was so adamant and acted as if he was answerable to none. Soon fight caught up between the driver and the bike guy. They started charging each other with curse words. The fight became intense and when the bus stopped at a traffic signal, the driver raised from his seat and pushed the bike guy out of the bus. The bike guy tried to withhold and fight back. But when the conductor teamed up with the driver, he was helpless and pushed outside. Everything was fine up to then. But anger played its part to make the situation a disaster.

The bike guy lost his senses and wanted to do something to show his anger. He took a big stone nearby and shattered the glass of the driver’s cabin. His anger was so immense that even after smashing the glasses he was circling the bus like a maniac. One thing to note here is that in our city (Bangalore) ladies are seated in the front part of the bus. Though the bike guy's intention was to attack the driver, the shattered glasses hit on the ladies in the front part. There were old women, small children and even few women holding just born. They panicked when the glass hit them and there was huge hustle. People started getting out the bus and they started chasing the bike guy. Even though he tried to run away from the people, he got caught. The stone from his hand was removed and he was slapped hard by the people around. Since the bus was blocking the road, traffic piled up and soon police came there. They heard the case and arrested the guy. They cleared the traffic and then I got into another bus. While crossing the police jeep I saw the bike guy with tears in his eyes may be regretting his actions.

There can be thousand reasons for us to get angry. But a wise man should always seek a reason to be calm. The bike guy could have been angry because of the driver's attitude or inhuman nature of him getting pushed out or even on people's silence to act about the situation. Whatever it was doesn't even match the consequence he had to go through because of anger. If he had been patient enough may be the side mirror could have been costed him a few bucks. Even though it was totally the driver's fault, damaging the bus got him arrested. So, friends please think a moment before you do something in anger because nothing good can happen when you lose it.