Power of Perseverance

One evening I was travelling in the notorious Bangalore traffic to attend a book launch event. On weekends, the same distance seems much longer. One has to spend almost double the time to commute the distance as compared to working days. We normally just walk to the main road to board taxi to save time or avoid U-turns.

This time I did the same and hoped into the taxi. The taxi-wala was kind enough to switch on the radio to ease my traffic woos. A little while it seemed the driver also enjoyed thoroughly the Hindi songs, even though it was blaring. The traffic was moving slower than the walking speed. The driver peeped out of the window and, to my surprise, spat on that crowded road. I wanted to warn him but kept quiet.

Probably, I was not in a mood to argue with the driver. After around one kilometer, he spat on the road again. This time I could not keep quiet anymore, I told him firmly in Hindi not to spit on the road. He remained unperturbed despite being told twice. Then I addressed him by his name and asked whether he knew Hindi. He said he did not know Hindi as he spoke Telugu. I thought he was going to behave the same way throughout my journey and offer a hundred excuses like "I have a cold," "pollution is responsible

for my spitting" etc. Meanwhile, he started some discussion in broken Hindi about Bangalore's traffic and weather.

Surprisingly, till the time we reached the venue about 45 minutes later, he did not spit even once. I reached the venue in time. The reason for his avoidance to answer was not the language, it was his feeling of guilt for doing wrong.

When one comes across such irresponsible behaviour, I realised one must raise his/her voice against such behaviour instead of being a mere silent spectator. Another similar incident made my belief even stronger.

Opposite to my apartment moved in a new family. Those people loved partying at home with guests, four to five nights a week. With loud music playing inside, the people used to talk and laugh loudly on their balcony, which is close to our bedroom, making it impossible for us to sleep. It usually continued till the wee hours of the night. As if the house was turning into a small pub during the party nights. We could not complain to the society as it was located in another society.

We thought of talking to those people many times but chose to keep quiet. Many quarrels, fights, and police cases were being reported in the newspaper in similar situations during those days. So, I kept quiet for many days- we were also unsure if they would be in their senses after consuming alcohol.

Finally, one night, I decided to talk it over. The party started late that night and their chatter and laugh were also unusually louder. I switched on my balcony light and spoke to them from my balcony in a persuasive but firm voice, "Excuse me, can you please make a bit less noise? It is well past midnight and.

Please be considerate." A young man profusely apologized. They stopped making loud noises immediately. At that time, I thought they might repeat again after two-three days. Surprisingly, I never heard such loud noise again as long as they stayed there. They partied, played music, talked, and laughed, but without disturbing the neighbours.

When we raise our voice against something, it creates an impression on the psyche of the wrong-doers. It induces a bit of moral fear, forcing them to think twice before committing that again. I also realised, howsoever small our resistance may be, it is important to oppose.

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