Saturday, June 9, 2007

Of Neutral Zones

‘The New Indian Express’ dated on 17-05-07 carries a news item which I found interesting enough to write about. Appears under the title ‘Driver asks passengers to push train’, it narrates an incident in Bihar. The driver of a passenger train asked the passengers to ‘get out and push’. And the hapless passengers did it and it took half an hour to move the train 4 metres. The reason: one among the passengers pulled the emergency chain and the train halted in a ‘neutral zone’ ie ‘a short length of track where there is no power in the over head wires’.

As I read the news a flurry of thoughts flashed in my mind. But the first thing the news evoked in me was a hearty smile. Yes, though I enjoy all the comfort technology brings in, whenever I see technology ‘overpowered’ by ‘raw humanism’ I get amused. This is the reason why I smile when I see a mile long trail of vehicles including BMWs, Benzes, Hondas and the like, led by a bullock cart at traffic signals on the busy roads of Bangalore. And just see where the train caught in ‘neutral zone’, in Bihar, the land of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Railway Minister of mythical status.

Once the train, passengers and the driver who asked them to ‘push’ are deleted from the scene, one element still amuses me. And that’s ‘neutral zone’. Have you ever been stopped in ‘neutral zones’? If yes, how could you manage to get on ‘track under live wire’? For us humans the criterion that decides a ‘neutral zone’ is not unanimous. One person’s ‘neutral zone’, where he fumbles and tripped over may not be the same for another. But most of us found ourselves in ‘neutral zones’ one time or another in life. And then there are those who bid adieu for ever ‘to get out of neutral zones’.

I’m no modern age Guru of positive thinking to find a way out of ‘neutral zones’. In fact I loathe them. But ‘neutral zones’ and the possibility of getting trapped in ‘neutral zones’ is no matter of dispute. My effort to get out of ‘neutral zone’ reminds me of a greased pole ( usually an areca nut tree) which I used to see at carnivals when I was a kid. Usually something valuable would be attached on the top of the pole. Whoever climbs to the top can take it and will be declared as the winner. The best part of it, like any other sport, is not to see some one winning, but to see the countless attempts to reach there. As one climbs up a feet, he will be slipped down two, thanks to the generous use of grease. This tedious process of ‘achieving progress’ lasts for hours. At times contestants would raise the game to thrilling heights by keeping us on our toes making us believe that he would snatch it at any moment. And when finally someone emerges as the winner, he will be cheered and even carried and paraded all over the ground.

Once the dust is settled, we would sit and talk about the winner and how he succeeded in ‘reaching over there against all odds’. ‘Authentic findings ‘would be aired. Arguments would be raised. But in the end there would be just one conclusion, “it’s all knack yaar”.

Yes, to get out of ‘neutral zone’ is a knack. But shouldn’t it be accompanied with a constant will and an undaunted spirit?

1 comment:

Jubin George said...

Some load you are carrying should get off and give you a push. But then, the driver and train should be counted as two, not assumed as one :)

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