Adil Najam
Just in case you miss the point, here is a guy who is:
(a) driving a motorcycle in what seems to be a busy Lahore street (something not recommended for the faint of heart);
(b) tied to the back of the motor cycle is a large, and necessarily heavy, deep-freezer;
(c) he is also talking to his mobile phone (one assumes, hopes, that he received the call, and did not also dial it while riding the motorcycle!);
(d) because of (c) above, he is riding the motorcycle with one hand only; and
(e) he seems so engrossed in his call that he seems to be looking sideways and not really concentrating on the driving or looking ahead.
I look at the photograph and, frankly, I am speechless.
Should I be stunned that someone would even try to pull this off, impressed that he can in fact pull it off, or horrified at how he is imperiling his own and other lives by pulling it off? (To be fair, one cannot be sure whether he did, in fact, pull it off. One sincerely hopes he safely got wherever he was going!)
P.S.1. Other notable examples of the amazing exploits of Pakistani bikers can be seen here (Quetta’s Amphibian Motorcycle), here (8-wheel motorcycle ride), here (Of Mad Dogs and Motorcycles), here (Tension-free biking); here (on Pillion-Riding); here (Underage Bikers); and here (The Biker’s Bike).
P.S.2: Photograph originally published in Daily Times (July 15, 2008).
Well not entirely his fault! There are no programmes to apprise the public of the traffic rules and regulations. The police seem busy only in getting the bribes from the local transporters or else clearing the ways for the VVIP movements! believe me an extravagant no of police are deployed for this job.
Anyway, not everything is wrong. The traffic police is certainly being improved. Particularly in the twin cities (islamabad and rawalpindi) and the traffic rules are being enforced effectively. Hope that this is carried out throughout the country!
They say that in Lahore, you should drive as if only you have eyes and all others are blind. They also say that actually in Lahore, you drive as if all others have eyes and you are blind!
Seeing the picture though, I am definitely impressed.
@ fun ko fun, art ko art hi rehney do, meray sanam,
Warna, qalabazian, kehlaein gi, neri Shoh’dahpan
Mizaaj, siyyasat mein bhi unka wohi hota hey,
Hunstay aur rotey howay,goya keh bomb phat’ta hey
Musskharon ki ajeeb duniya mein,
Aik Pagal bhi, khud ko ajnabi kehta hey
Rafay Kashmiri
Another great find. Where do you guys find these gems!
I am IMPRESSED. That thing must weigh a ton. Balancing the motorbike cannot be easy with that behind you!
You can’t blame him. It’s hot these days and you never know when you might need a nice, cold, refreshing pepsi.