7. Save a DAY, save a LIFE

I am not talking about monetary benefits out here. The facts have changed and life seems to become lifeless.

Well, ever since I moved to the National Capital Region, things were never the same. I originally hail from a place that's far from being called a metro. There was a big courtyard and there were trees in the backyard. There was also a BIG playground in front. The nearest picnic spot was just an hour away (about 40 kms). From there the paths of education took me to another place, that was far from being called a city. Five years spent there were in the arms of nature. There were times when the lack of food and city like luster lead to having some extra booze. Even then, life was calm and peaceful in-spite of toiling around (yeah at least at times :P) trying to understand the EXTREME technologies that lay foundations for modern living.

August 2007 gave me the first glimpse of what it was going to be like. When I landed on the station, fortunately my friends were there and I was not as lost, as I would have been. Eventually, I took a cab from my friends place to reach the place that was to be my home for quite some time. I admired the flyovers, the smooth roads and the lighted city. Well, it was a weekend, and traffic is normally light on weekends.

Things changed the very next day onwards, when I realized the lack of basic means of transportation in one of the poshest region of the nation. At times, I have walked 3-5 kms for work. It was still OK as  my office used to be around 5 kms. An year and a half passed by and my workplace shifted to inner OLD native regions and a distance of 12 kms started taking me 40mins to 1 hr 30 mins.

Now my workplace is at a distance of approximately 30 kms. There are as many flyovers en-route as matches in a box. While I have a liking to drive, it doesn't please me much to drag the poor old car at 10 kmph. Driving at higher gears is a luxury. There are two routes that can be taken to reach work. The upcoming commonwealth games and rains have made both of them ghastly. The amount of time that it takes me to travel one way is around  45 mins to 3 hrs and it normally takes me around 1hr 30 mins.

Sometimes, the only thought that comes to my mind is WHY did I have to leave the far from metro place and head towards what looked like making a better living. The only thought that comes to my mind these days is of going to a place far from civilization and making a living out there. Imagine yourself away from the noise, the stress and the constant feeling of impatience around. Not only do I believe that life would be more close to life than it is now, but also it would be much more human.

While I was driving back home today, when I saw roads full of vehicles and felt a constant smell of burnt rubber and petrol because of the ultra slow moving traffic, it made me realize the importance of a day in one's life. If one day, the entire city doesn't travel, as in use a vehicle and sit at home or move around walking/jogging, what would the consequence be? There may be a shortage of certain groceries the next day, but that could be worth giving up. Imagine the tonnes of fuel that would be prevented from just burning up and the amount of gases that would have otherwise gone not go. How many lives would be benefited with that? Well thats just a thought I had and put it forward and that's why the title: "Save a DAY, save a LIFE".

See you around !!