freebird

People die every day. They die all around us. It’s the sun sometimes or the rains or the cold and God and sometimes us. But in Delhi, the capital of India there exists a BEING called BLUE LINE. This being has an insatiable appetite for death and destruction. They have a voracious appetite…of 4 to 5 people per day. What is this BEING? Blue Lines are BUSES. A fleet of buses privately owned and operated. Rumor is that most of these buses are owned by Delhi politicians.

I did my college from Delhi in 1994-99. Blue Lines were a threat, a scare even then. They had a healthy average even then…of taking 3-5 people to their graves every day. It’s been more than 10 years and yet Blue Lines enjoy unfettered freedom. They kill with impunity and the driver jumps and escapes. Sometimes the driver is caught and thrashed. Other times the bus is stoned or set on fire. Meanwhile people die.

But why does the Blue Line kill. Greed. That’s all. The more money you earn and take to your Boss the more cut you get. How do you get more people to get onto your bus. By speeding, by breaking lane driving rules, by overtaking when you are not supposed to, by driving over the speed limit and the list goes on and on…

The result is obvious.

After a spate of deaths in the last fortnight people have started to protest. They will for some time and then the way life goes they too have to move on. Can’t protest forever now can you?

In the meantime the great Indian political circus will try to milk the anger, frustration and helplessness of the families in direct proportion to the approaching election dates. Post the elections your guess is as good as mine.

Meanwhile people wait at bus stops. To be run over.

Who or what can put an end to this? Civic activism, government ordnance, PIL, other violent forms of protest or should we try something else for a change. Something peaceful. Probably what Munnabhai would have done. Don’t board the Blue Line. Simple. Walk to work, make scooter or car – pools, take DTC buses, cycle but don’t board the killer buses. Let them die on their own. Nobody will miss them.