Mindless violence & Curious cats

Two nights ago a friend & I were travelling in a rickshaw at around 8.30pm near sakinaka. Traffic jam on the road meant that our driver was easing his way slowly on the road, suddenly we spot a bike trying to take over from the right. He suddenly swerved & stopped in front of our rickshaw forcing our driver to stop. The bike rider was this swarthy looking guy who appeared to be drunk...came & slapped our driver after giving him some choice abuses. We were simply too stunned in the first few minutes to react. He demanded an apology from our driver who was this thin, small guy only too eager to avoid an altercation with this goon.

I have seen the other side of such an argument a while back when on my way to office something similar had happened, same kinda altercation between rickshaw & bike. But in that case my driver was this burly fellow who dared the bike rider to get off & get into a fight. No physical action took place that day...but it was only the fear of getting beaten up which stopped the bike driver from getting involved in a fight.

I'm sure such altercations are common place in the lives of people driving public transportation like rickshaw or cab drivers. It seems to me that appearance and bravado stop or in some cases aggravate such situations. But we are merely spectators while such mindless violent acts are enacted around us. Both my friend & I felt bad for our driver who got slapped around for no fault on his part. But we were helpless to do anything.

I always wonder what part of the male psyche makes it so easy for them to accept violence, guys think nothing of slapping or kicking someone, be it in anger or hitting someone in the name of stupid traditions which are carried over from college days and form a part of ragging rituals. I have never slapped or kicked someone in my life & the mere thought of someone doing that to me or vice versa is abhorrent. Yet when I see male colleagues giving bums to someone on their birthday as part of some hostel traditions; and the receiver remembering who hit him the hardest so that he can enact revenge at a later stage...it just makes me feel very sad. Education & upbringing simply don't eradicate violence from our psyche. We have to strive to do that ourselves. Talking with my male colleagues about this mindless & senseless activity which is like an endless tape playing itself over & over again hasn't helped at all. Its always a case of I was hit & so I have to take revenge & hit so & so on his bday too. WHY?? I haven't got a satisfactory answer yet. It just makes me glad that I am not a guy working at my office; I would never put up with this. It turns a happy celebration of someone's birthday into a violent & pain filled one if its a guy. It's revolting to watch someone being kicked no matter what is the excuse used to deliver that. And of course being guys they are all supposed to take it in the "right spirit".

Having lived with 4 men all of my life, this violence is new to me. I don't ever remember any of them doing anything like this with their friends. Of course they have got into fights; I remember my elder brother beating some one once when I was quite young. I remember my parents being very angry with him. Growing up with 3 guys did mean that we did get into physical fights sometimes, but my parents had the golden rule of no hitting girls; which meant that I never actually got hit very hard if at all :D But I was a bit of a tomboy growing up & have got into all sorts of fights with my brothers. Still I feel its different when you get physical in a fight as a kid & way different when you do it as an adult. When you do it as an adult in self defense or when you do it in a fight or as a group activity of beating someone ...its different each time. You have a choice and you have to live with the consequences of that choice. Choosing not to hit someone takes greater strength & conviction. Sadly that is sorely lacking in so many human beings.

On a lighter note; Tangy got into some unusual activity (okay, not so unusual for him...he's done this a few times in his 5 year old life) Mom left the cupboard open while she went to pay the delivery guy & of course tangy who was blissfully snoozing on the bed decides to explore the cupboard contents.

Mom returned & closed the cupboard without noticing the rascal. He was probably howling away but mom stayed in the kitchen for the next few hrs. Luckily for him our bai heard his meows & got mom to rescue him. It was pretty dramatic with the key not turning (its a very old wooden cupboard) my brother came to the rescue by managing to get the key to turn & open the door.
Tangy had scratched the cupboard & some of its contents during his ordeal.

Poor guy his nose & cheek have got scratched raw. Its turned black now & he's looking like a true adventurer.

Partly sunny day today meant that I could partially dry the 2 bags of soil I'd bought for the cats litter tray. Sadly the sun wasnt very bright and the soil too soggy. So its gonna be another day of sun at least before the soil dries out enough for me to use. Got a few earthworms in the soil, whom I released into a bougainvillea pot. They can use them to help keep the soil nice & aerated. Pinks & girlie were thrilled that I'd provided them with so much soil to play in. By the end of the day the soil was looking nicely played in and all over the place.

C aunty braved the cats & visited us for some time this afternoon. I've never met anyone who is so scared of cats. They of course didn't bother her at all. Just watched from a distance. Girlie of course ran to the loft as soon as she spotted a stranger. (My hopes of turning her into a Guard-cat have all been dashed) This new found bravery means that we can now invite her over more often; where earlier she used to run off ...now she has no reasons to.