Silence is Loud

It was a bustling junction at Luz, entering my haven at Mylapore today. I was pounding Megadeth in my MP3 player because i felt it was better to listen to some metal than hear the mindless and merciless motorists who keep honking for every inch they move. Amidst all this noise and haste, I was struck by the sight of 3 young people just before they were to cross the road at my signal stop. They were engaged in a very animated conversation and were trying to explain to each other about some issue that was bothering them. I was wondering what they were signalling to opposite the road until I turned my head to see a local party hoarding depicting a dhoti clad politician with his hands folded. What amused me was that the party president's picture was an inset on the hoarding as if he was overseeing what the situation was like.

After observing all this, I turned back to see the three boys getting even more animated and getting even more fenzy. It was then I observed that the lanes opposite the junction were blocked due to the party meeting and seemed they were discussing the results if they crossed the line without permission. One of them was depicting that the party people would chop their limbs off if they did and the other was trying to explain that they would hold us and beat us to numbness if we did so...and the last one said that none of them would hear or understand us. The three fell still for a while and guess they got the message. Something amazed me after that...it dint stop them from discussing them further. It was then the signal was about hit Green for us and one of them told the other that we've waited enough so lets get going and cross the junction. After all of this, it then struck me that all 3 of them were bound by silence and gagged by sound. Their eyes and hands was all that did the talking.

All of this happenned in a span of about 3 minutes. I was simply stunned by what I could observe and understand in such silence amidst all the noise and haste in that limited time. Their action, hand and eye movements and gestures were like poetry in motion, like they were dancing to their own music. In all the silence and still observation, there was so much that was spoken, heard and understood. Their smile, stares and grins were quite a sight in all the maddenning traffic zone that drove me insane. It doesnt take an MP3 player to give you the feeling of listening to music, it doesnt need words to convey what you desire to communicate. All it needs is a little understanding, observation and a little consideration.

Sometimes it hits you when you realise certain truths that come in the form of small real life skits like these where actions speak louder than words and silence is louder than speech...look around to find tales and feathers like these to enjoy the simple joys of life. Its as simple as that and it takes less than 3 minutes like it took me today. The last 5 minutes of my ride back home were filled with a light feeling that comforted me. I was breathing...