My Hero

Let’s call him hero. My hero. Few people make a lasting impression on our lives. They walk in and leave their foot prints all over. This hero walked into my life unasked on a sunny sunday morning. I met him at a traffic signal.

The highway was crowded with the usual Sunday shoppers, vendors with screechy voices thrusting their wares in front of unsuspecting customers, software employees on their way to the ritualistic weekend parties. Each of them had a week’s strain and varying degrees of boredom written across their faces. The signal being an exceptionally long one, they had nothing much to do but give in to the merciless squeaks of the hawkers. The lady at the wheel of the adjacent car was making best use of time by applying gobs of a slimy something to an already soiled face. The guy on the other side was watching her in wide eyed wonder. Two teenagers on a bulky two wheeler were contributing the whirrs of their engine to the hustle and bustle of the hawkers.

It was then that he emerged. And from no where in particular. Gliding noiselessly, he made his way into the crowd. Dressed in faded jeans and an over sized pullover, he sported one of the liveliest grins I’ve seen in some time. How many of us have seen super heroes for real? Well I did, along with a myriad other people stuck in the Sunday morning traffic lights. From the time he entered, he had us all hooked. The casket containing the slimy something was forgotten and the two soiled lids in the next car lit up in amazement. The whirring of the motor stopped as if by a charm and the two pairs of juvenile eyes gazed in wonder at the mesmerizing spectacle in front of them. Looks of incredulity crept across their faces. Hawkers for the first time looked as bored with their wares as did their customers. It’s not everyday that a super human leaves his land of make-believe and decides to take a look at ours. Our hero, looking as unperturbed as ever, took his place centre stage and had us watch open mouthed his display of magic…

Well what would I say? Matrix stars and Hrithik Roshans of the world please bow low. For here comes a supreme force to take you guys down in a single sweep. To speechless adulation and noiseless applause, our hero bowed to his spectators and in a fluid motion, landed next to our car. Should I mention that I rolled down the window for what seemed like an eternity? The lights turned green in a second and the five rupee coin disappeared in a flash into the pocket. And I was bestowed with a charming grin to cheer up the rest of my holiday. I can’t decide which shone brighter that day, the five rupee coin or the five year old’s face.