I woke up to the news of molestation & groping of a woman, in public (which just walked by), in one of the states in the country. I went out of the house, to get milk, into the lane past a stinking, overflowing dumpster and drainage, stray dogs & flies abound. I got ready and got onto my bike to go on ‘pothole-ridden-road-crush-my-bones’ journey. Suddenly, a bike rashly took over me and when I shouted out to him to go slow, he stopped his bike and patiently picked up a fight with me, using the choosiest of ‘gaalis’ (being rude is in fashion these days), oblivious to fact that it was his mistake, and that he was also jamming the traffic. After I inhaled enough pollutants to reduce a day’s life in me, I scrambled to leave the main roads to take a by-lane through the university I studied. I came across an agitation on ‘sons-of-the-soil’ notion by the students. They said I didn’t belong here (but I thought, being an Indian gave me the right to ‘be’ wherever I want to be, but, obviously times are a’ changing, and I was out of sync with my times). I move on, and drove past a political party house littered with banners of progress and promises of prosperity, remembering this was the same party accused of scams (obviously the cattle didn’t need the grain to eat, they did) the last year. I then passed the assembly which remembers the father of the nation only three days a year and that too because ‘he still sells’ (even today). I halted at a traffic junction and saw an old lady barely able to get up, begging for a morsel of food to get her through the day — we all gave her a rupee to ease our guilt ridden selves. The govt. hospital I crossed on my way was already teeming with bleeding patients standing in line for checkup as doctors fought for rights to boycott the mandate rule (by the govt.), to serve in rural areas. I then travelled through a communally sensitive area filled with cops to prevent any untoward incident. Something reminded me of an argument I had with a good friend of mine over the necessity of violence, which I lost (I supported non-violence, if you were wondering). By now, the journey took a toll on me, and I stopped at a cafe where a ten year old boy served me with tea and biscuits. I wondered what was his future. I wondered what was my future. And, I still wonder what is my country’s future.

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