Thoughts from a 'helmetless head'!

[Wrote this in early 2007]

After much dilly-dally the helmet rule has come into force. The authorities are happy that thousands are being sold, but not the vast majority of two-wheeler riders as they have had to pay more for the product as well as put up with invoveniences among numerous others that our govt. gracefully offers!

Apart from being a burden on the head, the helmet continues to be so, as long as it accompanies the owner till it is put away. In our general lifestyle, we normally go out for short errands, often, many times a day (also those in the business houses that send workers out for little jobs for short distances and periods). The helmet can be a headache while on the head and also while it rests under the armpit, what with bags and other paraphernalia, or while hanging at the forearm. And there are people that forget to pick it back if they leave it somewhere, then try to trace their steps back to retrieve it wasting much time. Some scooters and bikes can be fitted with 'helmet locks' which help to avoid carrying the helmet around. Going by its demand now, helmet thieves may be on the prowl to steal the locked ones!

College students on two-wheelers will have to carry this round burden on their heads (not a burden to some, but a boon as it can hide identity!) whether going to college or for private tutions in congested classrooms where space is at a premium. Now almost all have to carry them inside classrooms. Helmet stands may come up alongside, everywhere, but one may have to pay extra if that stand is hired for a price.

There are some who do not use others' things in the same family, (esp. caps and now helmets, for their awfully unique smell) where there is just one two-wheeler used by more than one person. Sizes of skulls also vary in the same family! In such cases each one has to buy a 'shell' of his/her own, adding to the unnecessary expenditure.

These days, there are also many 'grandmothers' riding two-wheelers. They will be feeling the weight on the head and make odd reflex-decisions in traffic. Gone beyond the oblivion are the old days when eyebrows were raised when a girl or lady was noticed on a bicycle! Now these grandmothers on wheels are as common as a housecrow!

The govt. is much concerned about the skull. No doubt it holds the 'hard disk drive', What about other parts of the human anatomy? Is the govt. not much concerned about them? When the helmet can bring in so much revenue, other protective gear might add to it! I saw the poor newspaper adult-boy struggling under the 'round object'. Many were recently promoted from the bicycle to a moped. And the 'masked milkman' makes an awful scene, milk-can in hand, right in the morning.

Lots of people from nearby villages visit the city everyday for some work or other and most are now equipped with two-wheelers. Till now they were happy with the best, multipurpose towel that also served as a protective headgear. Now one wonders where the towel finds its place!

A helmet-less rider was caught by the police for this violation once. He showed his skull to him as he had a built-in helmet and there was no need for an exta cover. The irritated police then let out all the air from the wheels saying that you don't need it as plenty of air was all around him!

There are a few ways to run away from donning the shell. Buy four-wheelers! Or better still, ride the good old bicycle (saves petro-money and is pollution-free as well). Or if we have time, let's use our feet and get fitter. Because public transport is either too crowded or unreliable. Auto rickshaws are expensive for frequent travel. My friend Mr.Brown used to say "Things that go up must come down, but prices are the only things that defy this". The petro-price ever-qualifies his saying. None would have grumbled if the helmet was collapsible and put away in a small bag when not in use. Let's hope someone designs it! Till then, it will continue to be an "all-round burden" and till it saves lives. For that to happen, the riders have to fall first, which is, as it is, very very rare! Such is the choc-a-bloc traffic that one may ask "where is the space to fall?"

"She sells sea shells on the sea shore." "They sell skull shells and make many a crore."