Perils of a Short Fuse

15 th day of #Blogchatter daily write challenge  

We all know that anger is better eschewed and it can put us to a lot of trouble if not kept in check. However, in the times we are presently living in, it is all the more important to be cool and calm as more and more people are getting stressed up and the number of persons with a short fuse is rising rapidly.Take for example, the instances of road rage.There is a lot more impatience all around and  a tendency "to teach the other guy a lesson". We find eventually that in the process of teaching him/her a lesson, the balance in our own lives could go for a toss. 

We have seen the case of Navjoth Singh Sidhu, an accomplished cricketeer who could not contain his road rage during an incident on 27th December 1988 at his home town, Patiala.  A 65 year old Gurnam Singh had asked  Sidhu to  move his parked car and give way to him, Sidhu along with his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu had heated arguments with the senior citizen. It ended with Sidhu beating up Singh and fleeing from the scene. Gurnam Singh  was declared as "Brought dead" when he was taken to hospital. It is after years of legal battle and the accompanying mental stress that Sidhu has been finally handed over a sentence of one year imprisonment. 

There are cases of honour killings which stems from anger over a family member's decision to marry in line with her/his own will and against the wishes of the family. A spurned lover 's anger provokes him to kill or throw acid on the girl. It was again, anger that prompted retired 55 year old Lt Colonel Ramraj to shoot dead a 13 year old boy, Dickson on 3rd July 2011 in Chennai. The boys living nearby, had the habit of entering the army officers' quarters enclave to pluck fruits in spite of warning. The officer was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Supreme court reduced the punishment to 10 years imprisonment and Rs 2 Lakh fine which was to be handed over to the boy's parents as compensation. 

Supreme court observed " There was no calculated intention or premeditation on his part to commit the murder of the deceased". It was a case of losing self control over a sudden provocation by the children. A former domestic help of the officer testified that " Ramraj was short tempered and had chased the boys in the past." It is clear that short fuse is the cause of many hardships for everyone involved. 

In the light of what we have discussed, I would like to go back to the first para of this post to reiterate that being calm and cool is the need of the hour. A few years back, I had got down at the Bangalore city railway station, early in the morning at around 6 AM. When I got into the auto, I noticed that the driver looked like a teenager. I was wondering whether he was old enough and whether he had a licence. These fears multiplied when he started driving.

 He was very rash as he drove speedily jumping red signals. I told him not to do it but he ignored me. When he drove past the red signal for the third time, I tapped him on the shoulder and said "Easy brother, drive slowly following the rules." The boy turned back swiftly. From the ferocious expression on his face, it seemed he would hit me. He said "Hey, I know what is to be done. It is my auto and I know how to drive it without getting in to trouble. Just shut up." 

He had not even given allowance for my age or to the fact that I was a customer.  I immediately told myself that it was a mistake to tap him on his shoulder. For all you know, he could be a drug addict and what he may have consumed the previous night may still be working on him. That brings us to the understanding that not only should we not have a short fuse but also be very careful dealing with those who do!