It was odd to see an even numbered car on an odd day just ahead of my car. Waiting for the traffic lights to turn positive, I was wondering why on earth cars were invented in the first place. Moving roads, the one like escalators running on electricity with seats on them all over the city would have been a better idea. No petrol, no diesel, no EMI’s, no parking, no insurance, no accidents, no drivers, no red lights, no traffic jams, no licenses, no papers, no horns, and no Odd-Even, half of the worries of human life would have never existed if cars were not invented.

If we ignore the long paused traffic signal, the CO₂ dominated aroma, the unsynchronized chorus of horns, the frustrated people around and realization of the fact that I am again late for my office, the only thing that was looking odd was the even numbered parrot green colour vintage ambassador on the road just ahead of my car on a day when only odd numbered cars were allowed to drive. I wondered how one can drive an Ambassador on roads of Delhi when Audis and Jaguar have become middle class members. No doubt the car looked sexy given its light matte finish colour. Must be some old chap, a lover of antiques I thought.

The car engines around me roared in chorus hinting that the traffic light at the farthest end of horizon, which wasn’t even visible had turned green. The caterpillar race had started for everyone else around but the old chap ahead seemed to have taken a nap. Just before I was about to take off my seatbelt and visit the old chap personally to wake him up, he moved his car ahead, he was lucky, seriously.

After a three minute crawling, the sinful traffic signals were finally visible. Human beings are so like the traffic signals, the same traffic signal when green makes us feel happy and excited and same when red makes us sad and de-motivated.

Leaving the wide roads I entered the lanes. A right turn, followed by three left turns and another pair of right turn was all I had to cover to reach my destination. The green ambassador was still making it difficult for me drive smoothly. The frequency of hitting the brake pedal increased with every turn I took. The lanes were two-lane one way and hardly allowed the takeover facility given the rush of cars.

If I had not pulled the breaks at the last moment I bet my flash lights would have cost me a fortune. I was in no mood to spare the ambassador driver now. To add to my good mood the Skoda driving behind me kissed my car’s bumper softly, no damages though. It wasn’t his fault, the halt was sudden.

 I came out of my. Crap! The even numbered car was being fined by the traffic personnel ahead. There was no chance of a reverse gear. I went ahead to take note of the negotiations going ahead and to check the great personality who has been cursing my day.

The Ray Ban, Omega, Fossil and Steve Madden weren’t as attractive as the beholder. She had emerald eyes, a relaxed and calm appearance a dimple on the right cheek and untied dark hair running to her waist. She looked as heavenly as an angel. She wasn’t a stranger to me. Shreya, my colleague at Ernst & Young.

We work in the same office on different floors with different profiles and different work groups. The only instances we have ever been face to face have been during lunch or when at the nearest CCD for a break. Though we had many instances of playing hide and seek with our eyes but we never had an opportunity to converse.

 “I understand madam, but it’s an offence and I have no other option” – said the traffic attendant.

“See it’s urgent I have an important exam in another 30 minutes” – She replied. I smiled at her lie while approaching them.

“Sorry, madam I am bound by my duty and I will have to adhere to the rules” – added the attendant.

“Excuse me, if you would take the pain of looking behind, there’s a long queue of cars waiting for you to clear up this mess and they seem pretty angry at you given the fact that its peak office time.” – I interfered, gesturing her to allow me to take control.

She smiled a little and stepped back. The attendant took a note of the long queue of cars and people yelling in anger. A drop of sweat came down his forehead and he made a quick decision of letting her go without any further interrogation.

We exchanged a smile, a warm smile and headed to our cars. I found myself smiling at regular intervals on my way. She was on my mind the whole day at work, way back home, while listening to my playlist, while reading Nicholas Sparks and while taking turns trying to sleep at night. I found myself rehearsing self scripted conversations and smiling at this new madness. I was loving the madness though.

The next day, I was late again as I had to travel in a never-before-packed-metro.

“Hey Nirav” – came an unfamiliar voice from behind me. I turned and found Shreya standing at the back my table in the cafeteria. I excused myself from others. I was surprised by the fact that she too knew my name, appreciable.

“Hi” – I replied.

“Didn’t find you in the meeting, so came up here to say thanks for yesterday” – she said with her heavenly smile.

“Not to mention, I was late, the odd-even thing, had to take the metro”  -I added and returned a smile.

“Oh, why don’t we pool our cars if you are comfortable with it, I have an even numbered car you must have noticed” – she said smiling.

“Sure, my pleasure. Just let me know where to pick you from.” – I said keeping my excitement under control.

“Will text you.” – she said taking her cell phone in one hand and asking for my contact.

We exchanged our numbers and she left, given she already had her lunch moments ago. It was a long night, she refused to leave my thoughts. The next week flew by like a dream, from being acquaintances; we became friends, exchanged whereabouts, read each other’s life. We had a lot in common, love being most common. We went for a movie on the weekend followed by a dinner.

The formulae may have been an odd experience for majority but for us it turned even for sure. Even after the trail period of formulae was over we continued to pool our cars. We celebrated our evens and respected the odds. Life’s been a celebration since then and I wish it continues to be. 

Keep Smiling, Keep Inspiring :)