It rained in Hyderabad.

I drove my car out of the parking and started for home. It was raining and raining heavily. The clouds, which had been lingering around in Hyderabad skies, threatening a strike anytime, for the past few days, finally delivered what they had threatened.

I was expecting a few traffic jams on my way.

One particular jam, which happens regularly and very near to my house is the most frustrating.

There is a 2 lane bridge across the river Musi just before the next traffic signal. When traffic gets heavy people drive in to the opposite lane(on the other side of the divider) and block oncoming traffic from the other side. And it was raining today.

There is a bus stop just after the bridge(near the lights) and a traffic jam there means no buses on the reverse route.

I was listening to songs while waiting for the traffic to clear, all the time watching more and more people enter into the other lane from before the bridge and try to take a right turn through the opposite lane.

The traffic came to a halt. Nothing moved. The I started looking around for anything interesting.
I saw a student arguing with a biker about something pointing towards the traffic lights. I thought he might be asking a lift and the biker refusing and all.. But then he talked to another biker, then an autowalla. I got interested.

He was talking to people who crossed into the other lane and was very softly(with nerdy glasses and a notebook in his hand) trying to convince them that it was not right and they are blocking the traffic from the other side. People just neglected the guy. His words fell through deaf ears. But he kept going. He tried talking to more people, but their responses did not vary.

It was still raining slowly. I felt a slight pity for the boy. And a feeling that he needs to use force not persuasion to have effect.

Slowly I saw a few more youngsters join with him in trying to convince people not to come into the other lane. Then a few more joined in. And then more came in.
By the time I reached the traffic light the boy was standing at the starting point of a chain of students forming a human traffic divider, guiding vehicles into the right lane.

And the traffic flowed. The jam was gone. And while crossing the junction I could see four smiling, relieved, proud policemen standing in the 4 different directions telling the boys when to stop people and when to let them go.

I had that smile people have when they actually see something they think is only a matter of TV shows or intellectual talk, propaganda bullshit and the types...

It was real. It happened. I saw it. And it rained in Hyderabad.