Vichitra Kumar was waiting for the traffic to halt so that he could rush to the other side. It was an eight-lane road with four lanes on each side of the road divider facilitating the two-way traffic. Somehow he managed to reach the road divider. This was a very lowly-raised one-foot wide concrete platform running in parallel along the middle of the road, and lined with plants along its length. It was the rush hour of the late evening, and this road divider was at one of the busiest roads in New Delhi, a city known for unruly traffic and the most number of vehicles in the country.
There was no zebra crossing or a subway, which could help Vichitra in not putting his life at a grave danger by simply crossing a road. It took him ten minutes just to reach the middle of the road - nine minutes forty seconds to decide when to cross the road so that there was minimum risk to his life, and the last twenty seconds to reach the road divider. Still this was only half the battle won.
He was contemplating his next move to cross the other half of the road when suddenly his eye caught a dog standing right beside him. It was a good looking brown-colored pariah dog. Now everything was fine with this dog except one and that was his presence right at this moment. Vichitra clearly remembered that there was no dog around him before he crossed the first half of the road, and neither there was any one when he had reached the middle. He was the only one who had crossed the road right then. In the heavy traffic, it was difficult for even a normal human being to get to the other side of the road, let alone a lousy and a nondescript dog.
Vichitra liked dogs. He liked them to the extent that sometimes he would tickle cute little street dogs and play with them. But he was always at unease with pet dogs. He considered street dogs to be far safer than pet dogs. Firstly because he was once bitten by a pet dog. And secondly because he thought that pet dogs have that notion that they were always protecting someone or something, and so could be quite menacing at times when approached albeit just to say hello. Street dogs on the other hand were like free souls without the obligation of caring or protecting someone or something. They would be like they didn’t give a damn and you could approach them as if you didn’t care.
There was only one way that this dog was there right where Vichitra was; either he had simply followed him or he was already there and in the flurry of crossing the road Vichitra had simply overlooked him. Vichitra had never owned a dog and neither had he been so close to any one that he could tell what he was up to? However from the perplexed looks on his face, it was clear that he too was trying to get to the other side. But which one? - the one where Vichitra had come from or the one where he was trying to get to?
And the dog’s movements made it impossible to guess just that. One moment he would turn to one side. He would glance sideways probably anticipating for the traffic to stop. Then he would wag its tail as if to confirm that this was the direction where he wanted to head to. Next moment he would change his mind and repeat the sequence of events but this time facing the other side. And each time he would stare at Vichitra while wagging his tail. Vichitra really wanted to help this dog but he was having a hard time trying to decipher what on earth was going on inside this not-so-little dog’s little brain? The dog did seem to have an intellectual air about him unlike other stray dogs, but still, at the moment he was behaving like the most stupid of them all. After the dog did some four-five repeats of the sequence, Vichitra reached the conclusion that all that this dog wanted was a companion who could take him to the other side, any side!
Vichitra had already been standing at the road divider for five minutes now. He stopped paying any attention to the dog and started waiting for the traffic to slow down. Three minutes into this exercise and no letting up of the traffic. Just then he saw a car passing by with a dog staring out of the rear window and suddenly, out of nowhere a question popped up in his mind – which way? Vichitra made a resolve that no matter what he was going to find just that even if it meant his staying there a little longer than usual.
Vichitra came up with a simple idea. He decided to do exactly what the dog was doing. Vichitra started to behave as if he was also lost and didn’t know exactly where to go. He would turn to one side, glance sideways, and stare at the dog. Next moment, another side and the same sequence of actions. Now, it was the dog’s turn to be surprised. He sat up and started observing Vichitra. The dog couldn’t come up with a convincing reason that why all of a sudden this human being, who was supposed to help him cross the road, had started acting funny? And even if he had to couldn’t he have found a better place than the middle of this damned road? For the last five minutes, he was trying to indicate to Vichitra that he had come right where Vichitra had come from and he wanted to go right where Vichitra was going, and this crazy guy was taking no hints and instead doing all sorts of theatrics!
The dog considered himself lucky because today as soon as he had come to cross the road, he saw this ordinary looking guy just in time before he dashed to the middle of the road. The dog had followed him thinking he would be on the other side in a jiffy. And now this guy was acting like a weird doing everything except crossing the road.
What added to the dog’s misery was the fact that there was no one else who could help him. The dog decided that he was going to put an end to this. He could not bear with this clown any more. He stared hard at Vichitra and flapped his ears to indicate that he was tired of this waiting game. It would be better if Vichitra just helped him in crossing the road as soon as possible. The dog bared his teeth and made the worst possible face at Vichitra, the worst he had made in a week. This time Vichitra did get the hint. But how rude was that? He thought that here was a stranger and of course a human being with his benevolent desire to help another stranger, although a dog, and this dog was not even acknowledging this. Instead, he just wanted to get done with his business.
On the other hand, Vichitra also thought that his idea had worked because it was only a minute since he had started acting funny and this dog was already toeing the line. It was only a stray dog. So Vichitra mustered up his courage and patted the dog. This infuriated the dog so much that he wanted to bark at him just to scare the wits out of him. But being a wise dog he chose not to do so because it was Vichitra only who was going to help him in crossing the road.
Vichitra again started to look for the traffic to slow down. And seeing this, the dog breathed a sigh a relief.
Being at the notorious section of the road that they were, it was another five minutes before there was an appreciable let up in the traffic so that there was minimum risk to anyone who would cross the road just at that moment. Vichitra seized the moment and hurried towards the other side. The dog also followed Vichitra with a lightning speed as he didn’t want to be left behind and wait at the mercy of some other stupid human being.
Once they both safely reached the other side, Vichitra was expecting a look of gratitude and thankfulness on the dog’s face. Instead, the dog was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared in the middle of the road. Anyways, he let the thought go and was happy that he had helped a dog in crossing the road. The dog was also happy that finally Vichitra had decided to cross the road.
© 2007 Ankur Shanker
Archives
There was no zebra crossing or a subway, which could help Vichitra in not putting his life at a grave danger by simply crossing a road. It took him ten minutes just to reach the middle of the road - nine minutes forty seconds to decide when to cross the road so that there was minimum risk to his life, and the last twenty seconds to reach the road divider. Still this was only half the battle won.
He was contemplating his next move to cross the other half of the road when suddenly his eye caught a dog standing right beside him. It was a good looking brown-colored pariah dog. Now everything was fine with this dog except one and that was his presence right at this moment. Vichitra clearly remembered that there was no dog around him before he crossed the first half of the road, and neither there was any one when he had reached the middle. He was the only one who had crossed the road right then. In the heavy traffic, it was difficult for even a normal human being to get to the other side of the road, let alone a lousy and a nondescript dog.
Vichitra liked dogs. He liked them to the extent that sometimes he would tickle cute little street dogs and play with them. But he was always at unease with pet dogs. He considered street dogs to be far safer than pet dogs. Firstly because he was once bitten by a pet dog. And secondly because he thought that pet dogs have that notion that they were always protecting someone or something, and so could be quite menacing at times when approached albeit just to say hello. Street dogs on the other hand were like free souls without the obligation of caring or protecting someone or something. They would be like they didn’t give a damn and you could approach them as if you didn’t care.
There was only one way that this dog was there right where Vichitra was; either he had simply followed him or he was already there and in the flurry of crossing the road Vichitra had simply overlooked him. Vichitra had never owned a dog and neither had he been so close to any one that he could tell what he was up to? However from the perplexed looks on his face, it was clear that he too was trying to get to the other side. But which one? - the one where Vichitra had come from or the one where he was trying to get to?
And the dog’s movements made it impossible to guess just that. One moment he would turn to one side. He would glance sideways probably anticipating for the traffic to stop. Then he would wag its tail as if to confirm that this was the direction where he wanted to head to. Next moment he would change his mind and repeat the sequence of events but this time facing the other side. And each time he would stare at Vichitra while wagging his tail. Vichitra really wanted to help this dog but he was having a hard time trying to decipher what on earth was going on inside this not-so-little dog’s little brain? The dog did seem to have an intellectual air about him unlike other stray dogs, but still, at the moment he was behaving like the most stupid of them all. After the dog did some four-five repeats of the sequence, Vichitra reached the conclusion that all that this dog wanted was a companion who could take him to the other side, any side!
Vichitra had already been standing at the road divider for five minutes now. He stopped paying any attention to the dog and started waiting for the traffic to slow down. Three minutes into this exercise and no letting up of the traffic. Just then he saw a car passing by with a dog staring out of the rear window and suddenly, out of nowhere a question popped up in his mind – which way? Vichitra made a resolve that no matter what he was going to find just that even if it meant his staying there a little longer than usual.
Vichitra came up with a simple idea. He decided to do exactly what the dog was doing. Vichitra started to behave as if he was also lost and didn’t know exactly where to go. He would turn to one side, glance sideways, and stare at the dog. Next moment, another side and the same sequence of actions. Now, it was the dog’s turn to be surprised. He sat up and started observing Vichitra. The dog couldn’t come up with a convincing reason that why all of a sudden this human being, who was supposed to help him cross the road, had started acting funny? And even if he had to couldn’t he have found a better place than the middle of this damned road? For the last five minutes, he was trying to indicate to Vichitra that he had come right where Vichitra had come from and he wanted to go right where Vichitra was going, and this crazy guy was taking no hints and instead doing all sorts of theatrics!
The dog considered himself lucky because today as soon as he had come to cross the road, he saw this ordinary looking guy just in time before he dashed to the middle of the road. The dog had followed him thinking he would be on the other side in a jiffy. And now this guy was acting like a weird doing everything except crossing the road.
What added to the dog’s misery was the fact that there was no one else who could help him. The dog decided that he was going to put an end to this. He could not bear with this clown any more. He stared hard at Vichitra and flapped his ears to indicate that he was tired of this waiting game. It would be better if Vichitra just helped him in crossing the road as soon as possible. The dog bared his teeth and made the worst possible face at Vichitra, the worst he had made in a week. This time Vichitra did get the hint. But how rude was that? He thought that here was a stranger and of course a human being with his benevolent desire to help another stranger, although a dog, and this dog was not even acknowledging this. Instead, he just wanted to get done with his business.
On the other hand, Vichitra also thought that his idea had worked because it was only a minute since he had started acting funny and this dog was already toeing the line. It was only a stray dog. So Vichitra mustered up his courage and patted the dog. This infuriated the dog so much that he wanted to bark at him just to scare the wits out of him. But being a wise dog he chose not to do so because it was Vichitra only who was going to help him in crossing the road.
Vichitra again started to look for the traffic to slow down. And seeing this, the dog breathed a sigh a relief.
Being at the notorious section of the road that they were, it was another five minutes before there was an appreciable let up in the traffic so that there was minimum risk to anyone who would cross the road just at that moment. Vichitra seized the moment and hurried towards the other side. The dog also followed Vichitra with a lightning speed as he didn’t want to be left behind and wait at the mercy of some other stupid human being.
Once they both safely reached the other side, Vichitra was expecting a look of gratitude and thankfulness on the dog’s face. Instead, the dog was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared in the middle of the road. Anyways, he let the thought go and was happy that he had helped a dog in crossing the road. The dog was also happy that finally Vichitra had decided to cross the road.
© 2007 Ankur Shanker
Archives
11 comments:
Good Luck!!
Hey Ankur , Came across your blog through Rashmi Bansal's . I really admire your spirit. This experience may turn out to be just as enriching if not more than you LSE experience . will try to click on all the ads to maximise your earning . as for your stories i ve not read any but will print them out for a long flight im taking on wednesday . all the best once again
IW
I came, I saw, I clicked. :-)
Good luck mate.
Hey Dude,
a commendable effort. atleast you can now proud to yourself that you tried your best. And as the old adage state, God help to the people who help themselves.
Hope God is hearing you. ATB
Amit
Hey there...
Definitely a commendable effort. More than anything I like the whole concept. I’ve always been a great fan of your blog "Solitary Meanderer", I’m sure this one will be rocking too. my best wishes.
Take care,
Prabha Murthy
Good idea on paper. If this blog can make you 100,000 USD in 6 months, then forget about LSE. Nothing like making $ 200,000 p.a. without having to leave India.
Whether you go to LSE or make $ 200K at home, best wishes in your endeavors. At the end of 183 days, let us know how short you fall off the target.
PS. BTW, in your support, I have clicked all the ads, and will in future too.
my one story...
u were supposed to sell 1 story to me
its IP, u know it better; Shanker...sale of IP
kapil
the whole idea looks good! But let's look at it, u have got $56 in 3 days, thats 18-19 a day. I am sure with some other bloggers advertising for you, this would not be a liner curve so it would go up.
Let us say it continues to go up. On a liner curve this average would fetch you 3400 to 3600 dollars.
Lets say by the 180th day your per day earnings become 5 times to what you have today. Even then you would end up earning may be 10K.
Well, I am not trying to demoralize you, but the only way you could get this much money is by donations not through adsense. People clicking on the ads are also doing it out of a spirit of donations arent they?? They arent doing it because they loved your stories or so.
Please do not interpret me as one of those pessimist people who only discourage. But, if Adsense could get so much for writing then all would have been rich because all have blogs these days.
Once again want to say good spirit, best of luck! would be more than happy to see someone making it through..
Some of the other ways you could advertise yourself could be.
1. Write about this blog to some news channel. Even if you run someone would come forward helping you.
2. Get a HTML code for a graphic of this website and urge some popular bloggers to flaunt it on ur website.
3. Instead of merely using google adsense user some of the other test based ad solutions as well. As I have heard some other click based ad guys provide better money.
On the way you would get to learn a lot and trust me you will anyways be there.
Best Of luck.
Ankur Gupta
[Arun Sundar] Thank you.
[Anonymous] Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you find my stories interesting. By the way, are you the same person who had posted a comment on my second post and offered 8000 pounds? I am just curious :) Anyways, no matter how enriching this experience may turn out to be I'd still want to attend LSE! Happy journey and dont forget to take the print outs :)
[auselessblog.wordpress.com] Thank you.
[Invincible Falcon] Even I sincerely hope that He is listening :) By the way, thank you.
[Prabha] Thank you for your support.
[Sifar] Thank you. And keep visiting.
[Pauperji] Hmm.. seems like we'll have to stike a deal.
[Ankur Gupta] I agree with your views. Frankly speaking, though it may sound naive of me but I have never calculated or tried to guess what could my earnings be at the end of six months. I thought I had an idea and so have simply gone ahead with it. You are right in that I should look for other adverting programs also. I have already been doing this for quite some time. Some of the other good programs have strict eligibility criteria like one should host a website on a first level domain name only, incompatibility with blogger, minimnum traffic etc. I will definitely consider your other two suggestions also. By the way, thanks for your visit and for your time in writing out such an elaborate comment.
Good Luck buddy on reaching you target.. Came to know about your story from Ibnlive..
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