Many times I am really surprised how the western countries make a big hue and cry over small matters. Recently there was news in the papers about how a chicken in Scotland crossed a street and how the city authorities actually noticed this.
It so happened that a lady driving a car, noticed a chicken scurrying in front of her car. Startled, she applied the brakes instantly. Now, the lady drivers in Scotland are very law abiding citizens, they are either applying nail polish or are playing detective in trying to trace the elusive Pokémon's or they are indulging in that harmless activity called Mobile chatting. But this lady was different. Perhaps she belonged to the bygone generation. She applied the brakes, took her car to the sidelines and dialed the authorities.
If it had been India, perhaps the chicken would either have been crushed under the wheels or would have ended up on some driver’s dining table. And in India, all animals cross the roads, that too when the driver is least expecting it, whether it is a chicken or a stray dog or cattle, on a busy city road or cattle or elephants in the south. In Thane, where I stay, the stray dogs are the kings of the roads, it is their territory, the cars have to either slow down or take a long detour around the dog, so as not to disturb the sleeping beauty. Recently I had been to the city of Udaipur. There the roads belong to the cattle, who occupy the best shaded and airy part of the road, and the cars have to drive around the cattle. That's why our Driver faced great difficulty in finding a shaded parking spot since it was usually occupied by a family of cattle. When we asked the driver about this, he stated very matter of factly that the cattle occupy the roads to avoid mosquitos in the dark tabelas. On the roads, due to the cars and trucks going by, no mosquitos dare sit on them during their siesta time. That day I came to know that the drivers of Udaipur are so empathetic, they care about the mosquito bites on the cattle. Perhaps some entrepreneur should come out with a contraption, which sprays the inside of a car with perfume and the outside with a mosquito repellent. Guys, I am just trying to say that animals, whether bi-pedal or quadruped, are common on Indian roads, and what happened in Scotland, can never happen in India.
Anyway, coming back to our story, as soon as the lady in Scotland called the city authorities, a police car in the vicinity was at the spot, in a jiffy. And 4 policemen were immediately down on their haunches to catch the culprit, the modest chicken. The lady was honoured with the ‘STAR of the MAYOR’ for her exemplary kindness towards all living things. But the last I know, 4 policemen together were not able to capture the chicken. Perhaps they were chicken hearted policemen.
Yatindra Tawde
It so happened that a lady driving a car, noticed a chicken scurrying in front of her car. Startled, she applied the brakes instantly. Now, the lady drivers in Scotland are very law abiding citizens, they are either applying nail polish or are playing detective in trying to trace the elusive Pokémon's or they are indulging in that harmless activity called Mobile chatting. But this lady was different. Perhaps she belonged to the bygone generation. She applied the brakes, took her car to the sidelines and dialed the authorities.
If it had been India, perhaps the chicken would either have been crushed under the wheels or would have ended up on some driver’s dining table. And in India, all animals cross the roads, that too when the driver is least expecting it, whether it is a chicken or a stray dog or cattle, on a busy city road or cattle or elephants in the south. In Thane, where I stay, the stray dogs are the kings of the roads, it is their territory, the cars have to either slow down or take a long detour around the dog, so as not to disturb the sleeping beauty. Recently I had been to the city of Udaipur. There the roads belong to the cattle, who occupy the best shaded and airy part of the road, and the cars have to drive around the cattle. That's why our Driver faced great difficulty in finding a shaded parking spot since it was usually occupied by a family of cattle. When we asked the driver about this, he stated very matter of factly that the cattle occupy the roads to avoid mosquitos in the dark tabelas. On the roads, due to the cars and trucks going by, no mosquitos dare sit on them during their siesta time. That day I came to know that the drivers of Udaipur are so empathetic, they care about the mosquito bites on the cattle. Perhaps some entrepreneur should come out with a contraption, which sprays the inside of a car with perfume and the outside with a mosquito repellent. Guys, I am just trying to say that animals, whether bi-pedal or quadruped, are common on Indian roads, and what happened in Scotland, can never happen in India.
Anyway, coming back to our story, as soon as the lady in Scotland called the city authorities, a police car in the vicinity was at the spot, in a jiffy. And 4 policemen were immediately down on their haunches to catch the culprit, the modest chicken. The lady was honoured with the ‘STAR of the MAYOR’ for her exemplary kindness towards all living things. But the last I know, 4 policemen together were not able to capture the chicken. Perhaps they were chicken hearted policemen.
Yatindra Tawde
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