Budd Whyy is there such a high level of intolerance amongst people today?

A young girl driving her car on a busy city road in the afternoon overtakes a young boy on his motorbike – in turn the boy speeds up ahead, stops in front of the car, forces the girl out of the car and slaps her till she falls on the ground, still crying for help. There are loads of people watching her but not a single person comes forward to help her and she eventually manages to stand up all by herself and move on.

Is this what most people define as “road rage”? Was the boy just having a bad day and took out his anger and frustration at someone else who happened to irk him at the wrong time? What made the boy react the way he did can be anyone’s guess; but one thing’s for sure – he definitely had no right to any of his actions that day.

Road rage is probably the most common sign of intolerance but there are various events which show that we as a society have we become an intolerant lot.

The amount of incidents of communal tension in our country in the last couple of weeks is alarming. It’s not only people of one religion up in arms against those of another, it’s worse to see people of the same religion against their own people just because they speak a different dialect and language.
It’s always heartening to hear stories of solidarity during such situations – neighbours helping each other, not only with a protective shelter but also with the warmth and love that they need most. But is this enough for the people who have lost everything – their home, their loved ones, everything about their life they had built until now?

Intolerance is also when a husband gets irritated at his wife for not getting his office lunch prepared on time without even finding out if there was a reason behind it. It’s a supervisor admonishing his team member in front of the entire audience for a small administrative lapse, thus adding insult to injury. It’s a teenage son / daughter getting “pissed” of at their mom for not doing something as per their time, without realizing that she may be unwell. It’s us walking down the footpath and snapping at the person in front blocking the way. Intolerance is also us taking our loved ones for granted and hurting those who mean the most to us.

Budd Whyy don’t we have the patience to wait for a few moments, the endurance to at least hear what the opposite person has to say? Why can’t we maintain peace with the person even though we may not agree with his/her view? Does it have to be “my way or the highway" for us?

The bigger Budd Whyy for me besides all this intolerance is our tolerance to all the wrong that happens around us? Whyy don’t we raise our voices against something that we know is unfair; whyy don’t we help someone in need if we have to go out of our way to do it? Whyy can’t we as a united people stand up for what we know as the truth and what our conscience tells us to do? Whyy can’t we simply do that one thing that makes the other person smile even if for a brief moment?

Budd Whyy do we falter at a time when we need to be the strongest?

Budd Whyy is there always just a temporary facelift?

The other day on my way to work, I was admiring the newly done up roads and sidewalks with small plants all along keeping the spirit of “green” Pune alive. The freshly painted walls with the Commonwealth Youth Games mascot Jigrr, in the brightest of colours gave a completely vibrant look and feel to the city.

Alas, this feeling was quite short lived since it was the same day that I had spent almost 5 hours commuting back and forth to work.

What’s the point in a beautiful road if it is too narrow to sustain the increasing number of vehicles? Would the people appreciate any of the work done by the authorities if they get stuck in mindless traffic jams on a daily basis and lose quality time which they could have otherwise spend with their loved ones?

Some of the main roads of Pune have been done up well but walk a little deeper in the other bylanes and the truth falls out in the open potholes. Narrow broken tar roads with no sidewalks, no road lamps, hawker stalls, etc. Add to it, the garbage that is littered at regular intervals and the city infrastructure cuts a very sorry picture – with or without an international event to gear up to.

This was one of the best infrastructural face lifts that Pune could have got in recent times, but unfortunately it was completely superficial and may just be temporary. The authorities and experts do know their roles in city planning and development – if only they could plan it in advance and at par with the booming growth and expansion of the city, their reactive attempts would only be futile.

But one nagging question that still isn’t answered – Budd Whyy do we as citizens of this city live with such shoddy infrastructure and amenities without batting an eyelid? Budd Whyy do we proud tax payers tell ourselves time and again that nothing’s going to change and that we have to bear with the current state of affairs only?

Budd Whyy can’t we demand as our right that we get the best in class for the city that we love and live in?