A Memorable Jaunt
It is a tale of 2020’s July, when my bother-in-law had visited us. My elder brother, who was the victim of a hectic daily routine, planned to tour Abbottabad on my brother-in-law’s demand. The negotiations commenced for Swat and then probably because of the feasibility factor, ended up to Abbottabad. My brother’s unwilling approach towards the plan, kept it at a theoretical level and consequently, for me at least, a travel to the destination was unimaginable. There were many reasons behind my brother’s disinclination which do not suit the relevance of this article, but something stunning happened the following day.
The day took its usual boring start with a country-wide, smart lock-down in effect. As soon as I completed my breakfast, I was forced by my brother-in-law to get ready for the trip, which was for me, indeed unexpected. At first, I bared the demand a casual response but after persistent compulsion, I spent a wink in getting ready and at around 3 p.m., we left for Abbottabad.
We drove through, taking random turns and jumping from street to street, towards the Cantt area. We faced a handful of hitches with the car and finally ended up in the court, where we exchanged cars with my dad and headed towards Abbottabad. Then the real journey started.
We climbed the Ring Road’s bridge and scooped down the track to the City area. After a consistent and smooth traffic flow, a bottleneck resulted in a sluggish, bumper-to-bumper movement of vehicles. The sun was out but its scorching blaze was absent, resulting in a dim sunshine. During the traffic jam, we witnessed the test drive of Bus Rapid Transit’s (BRT) mammoth, rather dazzling automobile, which was actually a bus. On that very instant, I dreamed of travelling in that charming vehicle with a relaxing, probably air-conditioned environment. But the thought of a jam-packed and stifling atmosphere, transformed my dream into a nightmare. From cycles to trucks, the road bore the weight of every sort of vehicle. There was a constant buzz in the environment, constituted of horns and voices. There were many individuals around, some struggling to cross the road, some trying to win the bargain in the roadside shops, and others offering their merchandise while sitting on the pavement, many of whom my sight had skipped.
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