Life in a Town....and the town might've just been called Trichy

I'm a novice when it comes to driving geared (or just gear?) vehicles...and I grabbed the chance I was given to drive on NH 45...yes we were on our way to Trichy, my native...and now an "upcoming city" in Tamilnadu....never did I imagine that my father would be egging me on to floor the accelerator...to touch down on 120 km/hr!!!!!! It was brilliant...but short lived....as soon as the space on the highway seemed to get cramped by small town after small town, my father took the wheel and then onwards it was an endless foray into what goes into living life king size in a town...

Rest assured, the town will prove to you that cows still wander on roads like stray dogs; signals don't register in the minds of the average townizens; it's their birthright and in a way their talent to materialise at random in front of your car- you cud have been driving at top speed the previous minute, but you better be the master at applying sudden brakes and more importantly be the guru at predicting such random will. And if you don't get your top class car to stop, you will be treated to some low class words, and if you re lucky, you could even be the reason behind that big fist fight!!!

All through the way, you will spot things which are exclusive to towns, again! Like for instance, here the traffic cop and the security guy at a restaurant have almost identical uniforms. At one such restaurant, there was this security guy, who I mistook to be the traffic cop for that road...he helped us reverse our car...and I thought it ended there...but nope...he put one salaam for my dad (read: "give me money saar...") I was disgusted...while my dad jus drove away...he too was grumbling "Jus because he helped me reverse the car he thinks I owe him that ten buck???"
And now it was my turn...."How shameless do they get nowadays....is it his job to be standing outside restaurants like this? On top of shirking his regular work that bugger wants to make a quick buck too!!! Pah!!!"

My dad was confused..."Well its bad that he asked for money after being paid for by the hotel...but I'm sure he was jus doing his job there...." Only after a few more such confused exchanges did I understand that here (in a town) it was okay for the security guy and the traffic cop to wear lookalike uniforms....and if you desperately want to make out the difference, I learnt, that traffic cops don't wear their navy blue caps...so that s your clue, the next time you re faced with that particular desperation to distinguish!!!!

Once you ve reached that relative's house...you had better be prepared for any kind of bathroom situation...
Well if you re wondering what a bathroom situation may be...:
There would most probably be only one bathroom, with like a million (exaggerated, of course :P) people vying for that tiny space...
It may not be as clean as you would have liked it to be...and most importantly,
There may be a LIZARD...this one thing is enuf to send me swooning...so it's definitely a red alret situation for me!!!!

And then...you cant refuse food...you may loathe that vegetable they ve made correctly on the day you arrive...but you dare refuse it...your side will scorch from those red hot warning glances your mom shoots your way!!!

So, with that we come to the end of the domestic life in a towny town...:)
And where do we go from a town...??? Towards some centuries old temple that your ancestors made your Kuladeivam temple...and without telling it goes that it will be located in some remote remoter remotest village...

It s interesting to note the following when you re traveling thru rural India:
Your car will be the only vehicle for quite some distance
In the unlikely event of another vehicle, especially a four-wheeler, excellent maneuvering skills are a requisite
Kids may just run across...so may cattle...you hit either of them by the gravest mistake in life...you better be prepared for some dirty showdown!!!
There are easily ten small shrines that can be spotted within 15 minutes of driving!
If its dark, your car's headlights may just expose some bare butts, attending nature's calls, on the sides of the "road". Usually there are two pairs of bare butts, and two pairs of eyes that unabashedly stare at you braving the glare of the headlights!!!
You dare wear shades...you will get stared into quickly replacing them inside their case! Don't be stupid enuf to wear anything other than traditional clothes...you wont have the chance to quickly replace THOSE!!!

Some other unique features:
Small town people are content with whatever sense of fashion their place has to offer...the glamour and glitz of the silver screen can jus go to hell, apparently!!!
These people have that level of bhakthi in them that can make them walk barefoot through several, several such small towns to reach that particular deity...
These towns pose such huge untapped markets for several sectors...if only they knew how to make these people switch mindsets!!!
Tourist spots are majorly temples, parks or dams with a couple of statues thrown in!!
Here, girls and boys come together and hangout at temples...even friends from other religions are brought to such get togethers!!! (I likes that!!!)

But what is the most shocking of all this? Your parents, if from that place, may just be overcome with emotion at seeing the sights and sites where they grew up...and may express their heart's desire to settle down there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You scream No...you glare and say NO...you plead and say NO...no, nothing works!! :(
To them, this is living life king size...and who am I to refute that pleasure to them? :|

Pseudo-nerd is angry-cum-amused-sarcastic abt towny towny life...
Will write again after ages!!