Rohit glanced at his watch nervously. 8:30 AM, and he was already running late. The morning sun shimmered off the Brahmaputra River as he maneuvered his car out of the residential lane. He sighed with relief—today seemed like a smooth ride so far. Little did he know what awaited him on the main road.
As soon as he hit GS Road, everything changed. Vehicles stretched endlessly ahead, bumper to bumper, honking in chaos. Buses, scooters, autorickshaws, and trucks formed a patchwork of frustration, weaving dangerously close to each other. A traffic cop stood at the busy Paltan Bazar intersection, whistle in hand, futilely trying to restore order.
Rohit groaned, flipping the radio on. The host announced with exaggerated cheer: "Good morning, Guwahati! Another day, another traffic jam—stay tuned for some music to soothe your soul!"
The irony wasn’t lost on Rohit. This was life in Guwahati, where one narrow road could dictate your entire schedule. The infrastructure was stretched thin as the city grew rapidly. What used to be manageable congestion now felt like rush hour purgatory.
Beside him, a group of school children sat quietly in a bus, their eyes heavy with sleep. An elderly man on a bicycle tried to squeeze past an SUV, shaking his head as the driver yelled in frustration.
Rohit’s patience wore thin. The temperature was rising. His air conditioning sputtered under the strain of the heat. Sweat dripped down his back as he thought about his upcoming meeting at Dispur. He reached for his phone to inform his boss he'd be late, only to realize there was no network.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the line of cars began inching forward. Rohit sighed in relief, but his optimism was short-lived—just ahead, construction work had narrowed the road to a single lane. He cursed under his breath.
It was 11:00 AM by the time he reached the office, drained and exhausted. As he walked inside, his colleague Ananya greeted him with a knowing smile.
"Traffic jam?" she asked.
"Like every day," Rohit replied, shaking his head.
Ananya laughed. "Welcome to Guwahati. You don't experience this; you survive it."
Rohit chuckled. She was right. Tomorrow would be another battle with Guwahati’s traffic, but for now, he was just relieved to have survived today's ordeal.
