Why the animosity?

Out on my streets of Guwahati, I can feel a certain tension, a stress, a strain somewhere stemming maybe from an inane aspiration to rise above the other. Why don't I have a house as large as theirs? Why am I still driving the same car for 10 years whereas they have three huge SUVs? Why is their child studying in that prestigious school and mine in a non-descript one? Who the hell is she? 

And then one fine morning, when I am all dressed up as brightly as the sunshine with a disposition to match my ensemble, I chance upon this man driving his car, looking thunderously dangerous. My fault; he has been honking too long at the crossing and I was not letting him go 'cause the signal light was showing red. How was I to let him pass? So with equal force to match his blaring honks, I roll down my glass and point my forefinger at the signals. But he still continues to honk! I feel helpless at this point of time as he irritates me. As the lights turn green and the cars move to take a turn, the man who is behind me makes a move to almost hit me with his car from behind. Hapless so to say, I let him pass and he swerves past me, glaring at me for a few seconds to wish me to cinders and continues honking at the other cars. I smile back and he quickly turns his face away. He looks pretty stressed, I thought. 

But isn't it somewhat dangerous to carry your stress, anger and depression around the busy streets of Guwahati, or for that matter anywhere else in the world? Doing so, one has the chances of putting other people at risk.

For example, a man might have had a fight with his wife before leaving home for work. However, once he is out on the streets, he tries to take out his angst on the first person who is in his way. 

Reminds me of a story I read back in school by Lakshminath Bezbaruah "Phiringotir pora khandob dah", which meant making a mountain out of a mole-hill, where the protagonist has a fight with his wife for the simple fact that she forgot to add salt to the vegetables she had cooked. The man asks her why she hasn't added the salt and she speaks back rudely telling him he should have got married to someone else instead of her, to which he reacts to hit her. Their young adolescent son, who was sitting next to his father, grabs one of his legs, as he gets up from the floor, where he was sitting and having his food. In the process, the man trips, falls, breaks two of his teeth in front and bleeds profusely. The man is stressed out. His day starts on a bad note. As this disgruntled person walks to the court, there are strings of incidents, all culminating in either a furious fight or a vicious argument. The whole story ends on a high note of  the police swinging into action and the protagonist's anger reaching its zenith. All in all, a day wasted!

Similarly, I feel that we should keep our stress, problems and anger at home before we hit the streets 'cause our day might just end up as disastrously as the protagonist from Lakshminath Bezbaruah's story. 

But I am not saying that all people are glum and unhappy when they are on the city streets. There are some wonderful people on the roads, who have the sunniest of disposition. It's a pleasure to see them as they stop their cars to let children, women and elderly people cross the roads. They are happy as happy can be and they spread this infection to other people driving. I have seen these people many a times and instantaneously my lips crack into a broad smile. I carry this 'awesome' feeling all throughout the day and obviously my day is made. I wish everyday is a happy day not only for me but for every person on my streets of Guwahati.