I see her

A few days ago, while waiting at a traffic stop. Waiting in front of me, I noticed a couple of men in a van getting excited, and pull out a high resolution camcorder. (I could figure it was the kind of camcorders, professional camera men operate) They rolled down their windows just a wee bit, just enough to let their camcorders unobstructed view.
I was curious. As always.
I wanted to know why excited the men so much as to start recording. Looking in the general direction of where they were pointing the camera, I noticed a group of 12, maybe 15 women.
Tourists. Caucasians. Clothes barely covering their pale bodies.

These men were neither media nor recording with the full knowledge of the women. They were clearly breaking the law.
I had to intervene. I started my bike, squeezed through a tiny passage to stop in the line of sight, blocking the view of the camera. The guys in the van started yelling out to me, ordering me to move.
I wouldn't budge an inch, not until the lights turned green and then the women were gone.

What bothered me is not that we had tourists dressed in scantily clad clothes but that we still think we can violate privacy and freedom with impunity.
Voyeurism, reveals the dark crusted underbelly of humans. I've seen men in malls overlooking ledges and escalators recording PYTs in itsy bitsy attire on their camera phones.

All of which will be uploaded with scandalous titles like 'bangalore bitch reveals all' and such..
What surprises me is the gradual surge of such scandalous video since the past couple of years. What started as a trickle is a veritable flood now.

Kalyug, the Hindi movie struck a chord in so many people. As victims, perpetrators or silent spectators, we are all guilty of feeding this monster.
Demand after all fuels supply.

Our closeted minds need a rude awakening. Do we need to wait for another scandalous MMS video to be leaked from one of our schools/colleges/universities?
From kindergarden jokes and Little Johnny jibes, we grow into amateur film makers who upload videos of their girlfriends and significant others giving them a BJ.
I just wish all the men who did this would eventually get a taste of their own medicine.
Or would they try to peddle their own mothers, sisters and wives?

I've owned a camera phone back in the days when it was a novelty (the Philips phone that had a detachable camera) and through the years have owned several phones that had cameras. But I've never had the temptation of recording another girl.

Maybe, I am too old fashioned for reality tv, but the insatiable fetish to observe other women is a little perverse.
Perhaps we need a society where women are not closet topics/objects of desire but treated with the maturity it deserves. We better start now lest we be known as a civilization that ate its own tail.

Traffic Nonsense

Traffic Sense. This is a misnomer in India.

Ofcourse there are towns and cities in India where there is some semblance of order, but it is mostly chaos all over.

I often wonder why we even bother painting lanes on most of the roads since nearly no one knows why they are there. But if I may add, the single most annoying and sometimes terrifying aspect of driving in India is the Horn.

It appears that most drivers use the horn as an extension of themselves. As an appendage that can emphasize their urgency and annoyance. Almost like a spokesperson of indignation. 'You are wasting my time.'

At the traffic lights, it is difficult to imagine how Indians are ever used to waiting or getting late. One Westerner that I met at a traffic stop, was appalled at the amount of noise that we make on the roads. "Its like Indians are not used to getting late!"

'Contrary to what you think, Mr Caucasian. We always come late.' I said to myself

We don't need a Earth Day in India. We need a No Horn day one day every week. That would make a lot more sense.

Not that I hate all of the honkers. Many are plain arrogant and impatient, while some of them are just plain stupid.

I have started classifying the 'types' we meet on road.

The 'Devout Christians'

We have a bumper sticker that says 'Honk if you love Jesus'. And Boy! there are a lot of devout Christians who follow us. Honk! Honk!

The 'I'm Late For My Mom's First Delivery' Folks

We love the ones who weave through traffic with such dexterity and technique, its hard to imagine why we don't have a winning team at the F1. They race. They honk. They weave through traffic and scowl at you for slowing them down for that crucial 1/10th of a second. Only to stop at the traffic lights.

The 'Get out of my way' Folks

And then we have those glorious drivers who drive with a mission. Mission to Kill anyone who is unfortunate to be slow or just plain unfortunate. Its almost like one of those Atari video games that I used to play growing up, where we need to help a rabbit cross a busy street without getting it killed. I almost never made it! 

The 'Grammy Winners'

And then there are the musical ones. No, they dont have the musical horns but its just the way they honk. 

Pee Pe Peee Pee Pe Peee Pe Pee Pe Peee Pee Pe. 

I love this kind the most. Not just because they are musical but also because they are so plain cute and stupid at the same time. And if you observe them, you'll notice that they have the blond look. No expression. No IQ. (Apologies to all the intelligent blonds out there) (No Pun intended)

Two things that money can't buy. Common Sense and World Peace. Its a tragic truth that good traffic sense evades most Indian drivers. 

We've conquered space and technology, but we're unable to stick to a lane.

We're the only civilization that has never invaded another nation but we simply refuse to drive defensively. 

We've fought for our freedom and set an example in history but we still treat other drivers with contempt and disrespect.

What is it about Indians that make us lousy road users?

Horn OK Please