ROAD RAGE

Attending weddings could be tricky particularly with airports being located at great distances from city centers. A 2 hour flight could mean a one way road journey of over an hour to reach the airport. I had come to attend the wedding of my nephew who in a 5 star wedding ceremony was getting hitched to the daughter of a financial great. The wedding was a grand affair and had been organised by a well-known event management firm. There were several events with a variety of foods served to the invitees with gift packets for all invitees.

The groom said to me “Uncle you saw the new Mercedes car presented to me on the occasion. Of course I must be back to my business in California next week. The car will be used by our firm here. I suggest you take the maiden drive and use it to reach the airport tomorrow on your way back. Just one thing though. My chauffeur Singh is new here and may need a little guidance on the way. But he is very competent and drives fast. In fact he has been prevented from joining the army as his father and 2 brothers are already soldiers.”

I agreed. In fact I had a little problem in cancelling the taxi already arranged by the event manager for my return. They were overly condescending and said “Sure sir. We’ll use the taxi alternatively. Thank you sir for keeping us informed.”

The following day as the groom’s nearest kin I was given a formal send off and boarded the new Mercedes car. The chauffeur Singh who was over 6 feet tall in his turban was a young fellow and saluted me smartly as I got in. He fixed his seat belt and so did I. The air conditioning in the car was on.

I said “Singh, no need to rush as there is enough time. Give me a smooth ride.”

“Sir I’ll take you safely to the airport.”

As we proceeded I found Singh could read all highway signs and needed no guidance. I switched on my favourite music on my phone and sat enjoying it. I hadn’t noticed that Singh was speeding and was leaving behind some traffic snarls. Suddenly our car braked and I cautioned “Singh, take it easy. No need to hurry.”

“Sir that ambulance had to pass.”

After a few minutes of smooth driving, I found Singh horning and trying to overtake a red racing car.

I asked “Singh what’s the problem?”

“There are 3 boys in that red car ahead who are coming in our way. The yellow T-shirt who is driving seems arrogant seeking his way. Someone must show him that he isn’t the only driver on the highway.”

I said “You don’t do that. Concentrate on the road.”

A few minutes later, after going at speed Singh stopped the car. I saw he had blocked the red car. Singh said “Boss, just a minute. If we don’t teach those rowdy elements a lesson they will run riot.” Singh got down and I heard an angry exchange of harsh words between yellow T shirt and Singh. The yellow Tshirt said “You had no business blocking our way. Get out of our way.”

Singh abused the fellow when his 2 companions jumped out of the red car with one of them pulling out a gun. I got worried about proceeding to the airport if Singh was put away!

I heard Singh laughing out loud and saying “Throw away that toy! I know real guns and have used them. I’m not afraid.”

The three went to physically attack Singh but I was too scared to go out and help him. Singh was a stalwart and though the three rained blows on him, I saw his blows did more damage. The two boys ran back into their car.

Singh had armed himself with a long spanner and went to attack yellow T shirt. But now came the sound of a police prowl car which stopped near us. Police had arrived!

They made notes of what all had happened and took photos of the location of the Mercedes and  the red racer in relation to milestones. They then spoke to me and sought details. They said I was witness to a scuffle and that Singh was the guilty one. When they found that I was a top industry honcho they muted their questioning.

Police said “The boy in the yellow T shirt is the son of our chief of police and had called us in.”

I said “They were hooligans and behaved badly on the highway blocking traffic.”

Police said “We’ve to book a case of rash driving against Singh. That is what yellow T shirt wants.”

After a few minutes, police said “We’re booking a case against Singh who is the driver of this Mercedes.”

After they had recorded details which took some time, Singh said “Please check the boot of the red car.”

The boys said “You can’t do that.”

Singh said “I’ve done it and have made pictures of the contents: Three packets of drugs, and a case of whisky. See this picture.”

He held out his phone. Again the police and the three boys had a meeting and police came back and said “Singh is also guilty of drug running. The boys only had whisky bottles. The 3 packets of drugs had been planted by him to falsely implicate these young men.”

At this stage I had to intervene. I said to the police “I’ve to catch a flight in half an hour as I’ve to be at an important meeting tomorrow morning. Tell your chief that it is I who is being blocked.”

The arrogant Police said “That won’t work. You’re nobody as far as he is concerned.”                            

I said “Do as I say or I’ll myself talk to your chief.”

They did and called off the case. The boys were asked to pack up and not to harass highway traffic. Singh profusely apologized to me and said “I thought I had scared those boys. It was they who had the drugs. I peeped in and found the drug packets as I had suspected.”

Singh went at speed and despite the wayside delays set me off just in time to catch my flight. My words of advice to him were:  “You can’t discipline troublemakers. If one is removed another will come on perhaps more deadly. That is why police are eternally required. If those boys had a real gun……..”

But what I didn’t tell him was that the chief of police had been after me to fix his brother in a job in my company. In fact I had considered it favourably and was about to appoint him. That was the key to end the road rage!

END