Discipline is an invisible line - it is patiently waiting for the red light to turn green even though its 3 am and there’s nobody watching.
It is sticking to your lane and not switching to the empty opposite lane no matter how long the queue gets.
It is stopping at zebra crossings and letting people cross to safety, knowing that it’s the right thing to do.
As Goans, we travel over mountains and oceans to see new places, experience a new way of life and bring memories and pieces of it back home with us.
Soaps, perfumes, axe oil and spices are stuffed into suitcases and carried past airport security check. But very often, we conveniently leave behind all the intangible and valuable lessons that we’ve learned, practiced and abided by when we are abroad in a different country.
Take Dubai for example. If you are a pedestrian that is looking to cross the street, walking to the nearest zebra crossing is your best bet to avoiding a fine. And likewise, if you are behind the wheel and see a pedestrian waiting to cross by, it is your duty to stop and let him pass by to avoid getting penalised.
But just a flight away, it is so sad to see is that the very same law-fearing people, who are willing to follow the law in another country, refuse to do the same when they are in their homeland.
Whether it is a sense of entitlement or the thrill of breaking rules and getting away with it, you would think that being away from home would give one a sense of realisation that home is sacred ground, and everyone at home, whether distant or near, is family that needs to be kept safe and protected. But it is sometimes the opposite with cases of road rage and accidents that could have been easily avoided.
While we, as a society, wish to be modernised and evolve, what we sometimes fail to realise is that discipline is a lifestyle more than it is an evening act.
When it comes to zebra crossings, painting white stripes across the street is a great idea, but it was only two days ago that I heard somebody remark how one of the zebra crossings had been callously painted on a turn where it would be unadvisable to cross the street.
Not forgetting the recent zebra crossing at Campal that was all over social media after it was highlighted by a Goan news reporter.
Sure, the zebra crossing was painted in attempts to connect one side of the road to the other, but the joke of it all was that upon crossing and getting to the middle of the road, you would be greeted by a barricade; which is where the zebra crossing ended.
How is one supposed to cross over a barricade? Who approved this zebra crossing, and why did the person painting it not bring it to the authorities’ notice?
Thankfully, one news report, several Instagram shares and ten memes later, the barricade was immediately removed and the zebra crossing finally served its rightful purposes.
After all, recent times have proved that it is necessary to have a sense of humour to make a difference and trolling seems to be the only way to grab the necessary attention and find a quick solution.
Having said that, the right of the way belongs to each and every one of us, but it is only the situation that shifts. And it is up to us to apply and comply by the rules and more importantly, be considerate on the roads.
Right from slowing down and having an ounce of mercy on the drenched bikers that you just splashed a rainy puddle on, to realising that when it comes to zebra crossings, the pedestrians have the right of the way and it is your duty to slow down and stop until they pass by, we might have miles to go, but every tiny steps leads the way.
As of today, not all good is lost. And, to the lady in the blue Volkswagen that overtook me this morning, I wish I could tell you how happy it made me to see your brake lights beam and your car come to a gradual halt at the zebra crossing at the Panjim market- I hope you see this, the world needs more of you.