The Hurdles Of Inconvenience!

You are walking leisurely or in a hurry, whatever be the situation, along a small lane which is empty most of the time, and you’re enjoying your walk. You see a big car parked ahead blocking nearly half of the lane. The moment you reach it things start happening as if it were pre-planned. You get surrounded by sudden traffic in both directions—cars, bikes, cycle rickshaws and what not, rushing and honking endlessly.  You’re forced to stop behind the car, not able to walk on, as if trapped, and you start cursing if the sudden traffic movements continue for more than a minute. You’ll get angrier after you finally overcome the hurdle; because the moment you cross it the lane is again empty and quiet. You’re now convinced that it was a conspiracy of sorts, and that such conspiracies keep on happening.

Because then again, you see a street light post almost in the middle of the lane making the road narrower, and you’d wonder why the municipal authority was in such a frame of mind. The moment you approach it it’s all over again—cars, bikes, cycle rickshaws rushing honking in both directions, and even cyclists coming behind you trying to slip through the wrong side of the light post, stopping your progress altogether. You curse again if the commotion continues for more than minute, and normally it does last more than your tolerance time limit, always, invariably. And then, everything’s back to normal after you cross this hurdle.

On another instance, you see a puddle of murky rain-water or a blackish pit caused by seepage on your side of the lane that forces you stray into the middle portion in order to avoid it; but before you’re able to do that, the traffic movements would suddenly happen again from both directions, paralyzing you by the side of the puddle, making you swear in anger, frustration and absolute helplessness.

Your conspiracy theory gets confirmed, because you see such inexplicable inconveniences happen regularly, on most your walks or errands. Then, one day you decide to write about it, and want a suitable photograph to convey your conviction. So, you stand at those ‘hurdle’ points with your smartphone camera ready for action. Alas! Nothing of that sort happens this time! Now, you curse because it’s not happening—the road obstinately continues to remain quiet and desolate.

Anyway, these are not serious matters; these are normal—in the sense of ‘wrongs things happening at the wrong time’ or ‘timing doesn’t ever suit me’ or ‘that I’m always unlucky’ or like that. These things happen not only on the roads, but also at homes regularly, always, and invariably. The doorbell rings when you are about to apply the shaving razor to your face covered with lather, and your anger all the worse when you peep through finding the newspaper agent with the bill; doorbells ringing invariably when you’re in the bath, often couriers coming with important parcels, and if you’re alone in the house it’s all the more annoying; you sit by your mobile expecting an urgent call, and the moment you go away for a glass of water or to take a leak, the mobile would definitely ring making you curse as you discover the ‘missed’ call; your spouse would always ring your mobile the moment you switch on the movie channel for a favorite you waited for or as you go into the kitchen to make advance preparations for dinner; no end to such ‘inconveniences’.  

It’s perfectly alright to keep on wondering over such coincidental hurdles on your way; but not at all alright if you start taking these too seriously and start cursing all the more bitterly. You surely wouldn’t want yourself stranded behind cars or puddles or dead-ends, but, in the same way, you’d not want many other situations in life too. This hurdle-race of life is not that boring either, if you anticipate it cleverly and overcome it diligently. Right?