The Biker Who Knocked on the Window
I am Ayaan, and sometimes the India you dream of shows up when you least expect it. I was at a signal. The usual Bangalore chaos. Engines humming. Everyone waiting for the light to turn green. The kind of moment where most people are either on their phones or staring blankly at the car in front of them. And then it happened. From the window of a car, a wrapper came flying out. Casually. Without thought. The way people do things when they have decided that the road belongs to everyone else's problem. I noticed it and truly speaking this was a second similar incident. I felt quiet frustration — the kind you swallow because what are you going to do about it anyway? But the biker in front of me, he didn't swallow anything. He got off his bike. Calmly. Without aggression. Without drama. He picked up the wrapper from the road, walked up to the car and knocked on the window. The window came down slowly. He said something in Kannada. I couldn't follow every word. But...
