Egg Yoke ! a.k.a Pedal Power – Part -II



Its peak traffic. Buses hoot. And supply some free soot. Cars compete with each other, with a buzz about them, that it seems that they are girding their loins for the Nano. The policeman swears. This time, cursing the sun. The signal stays red. 

From the confines of his car, he sees a tower go by, on a bicycle. 

A tower of eggs ! Balanced neatly by a middle aged man, with rolled up trousers and a run down bicycle. He too awaits the signal to turn green. The signal stays red. The sun beats down. 

From his car, he looks intently at the big tower of eggs on the pillion. Each egg seems well ensconced. Smug. And unaware of whats coming its way. Perhaps the eggs were enjoying the sights. And of course, all sights are different, when there is elevation ! 

“Mass produced eggs”, he says aloud, to himself. The still air in the company devoid car soaks up what he speaks. “Eggs that are shorn of love but rich in protein and cholesterol and such else ! Eggs that are produced for the sole purpose of consumption ! Eggs that would disintegrate into an unrecognisable form upon being dropped or broken open !” 

Today, those fragile eggs seemed to sit pretty in the security of the pillion, the balance and the sun !  The sun continued to beat down. The signal stays red. 

In the blurr of the heat, he continues to stare into the Egg Tower. And suddenly, he sees his apartment complex in that egg tower !  And he smiles. Yes, he says. 

All eggs. All proper eggs ! 

The B-School type, the diamond trader type, the ex-army types, the corporate type. And all their families.  He sighs. He recalls watching children swear at the security gaurd, in front of their parents.  And ofcourse, he turns away, when a corporate type throws garbage in the alleyway. He stood perplexed when he caught his neighbour steeling his morning newspaper. 

Proper eggs.  He thinks.  He rewinds. And replays.  

Mass produced eggs. Eggs that are shorn of love but rich in protein and cholesterol and such else ! Eggs that are produced for the sole purpose of consumption ! Eggs that would disintegrate into an unrecognisable form upon being dropped or broken open ! The sun continues to beat down. 

And then, the signal turns green. That tower of eggs makes progress and moves away. 

‘Proper Eggs’, he says again.  This time, he includes himself.  

He looks in the rear view mirror and purses his lips as his alter ego tells him, that his yoke is his silence. It makes him culpable. He thinks so.   

In some time he hits a clear stretch and accelerates. That egg tower on the pillion is gone. But his yoke tower seems to stay with him. With a felt presence. Clear stretch or otherwise. 



18 thoughts on “Egg Yoke ! a.k.a Pedal Power – Part -II

  1. I thought I might have some ideas in my brain for a new post, but it just exploded all over my screen.

    I LOVE this post. LOVE it.

    And the photo of the actual eggs is priceless.

  2. Kavi, what an outstanding post. And would you believe it, some eggs are also resident in non-towers.

    I must say that I have always had huge admiration for these bread-anda guys, who cycle through the traffic, with their egg-towers, unconcerned at being in the wake of a unneccessarily acceelerating fancy car which , in passing, would tend to blow the cycle to the side. They have confidence in themselves, their cycles and their eggs, yoked or not , to the pillion seat. How many of us have so much confidence in whatever we do ?

  3. manju says:

    One of your best posts, Kavi!

    Nice play on words, but of course it goes beyond just that.

    Through such posts, you have shown me a whole new way of looking at this city, and at life in general!

  4. ~nm says:

    I am yet again truly amazed how you weave posts around such every day things.

    And its the first time I’ve seen such colorful egg trays.

  5. Swatantra says:

    Kavi!!

    This one is really amazing!! I just loved reading it!!

    Good Luck!!

  6. SGD says:

    A Belated HAPPY TAMIL NEW YEAR! (I dont know the Tamil term for it!!)
    And what a fantastic post!!!
    The novelty of the post….you amaze me!! wonderful…

  7. tina says:

    Hi Kavi,
    I would have never believed anyone telling me that one could carry so many eggs on a bike. Thanks for that photo,one has to see to believe that. This is a fantastic post.
    Happy New Year!

  8. Ankit says:

    Awesome picture

    Just by your current and previous post. I seen an image in my mind which shows a NANO with the rear seat pulled out and used for all kinds of storage stuff.

    Please put all the copyrights on this pic before this gets huge.

  9. Chandramoorthy says:

    One of your best posts ever Kavi…your gift with your writing skills – hats off…the words just seem to cascade over a hill of meaningful thoughts…wonderful post…

  10. Wow! Great reference to our rabbit-hole apartments and the eggheads who live in them!!

  11. nsiyer says:

    What imagination! Kavi. And what a way to compare and bring out vulnerabilities. Thoroughly enjoyed.Great poat.

  12. Happy New Year to you, Kavi!

    I’m thinking abt the corollaries of the egg tower …Balancing a whole tower of eggs on a bicycle is some sight and some thought:)

    Tried to put in a comment earlier, glad it worked this time:)

  13. amreekandesi says:

    Wow…i just have to add to the pile of compliments others have already showered here. This is an intriguing, thoughtful, brilliantly written post.

    And kudos to the man carrying that huge pile of eggs on his bike. Elsewhere he would be part of a stage act!

  14. True literary genius is the ability to find similarities in dissimilar things and express them so well, that the connection seems self-evident. You very definitely have this gift of metaphor. Wonderful post!!!

  15. yeppa… how do you happen to have chance encounters with such lovely subjects?

    you must truly be blessed to have caught that first shot

    engeyoooooooooo poiteenga Kavi!

    comparing the yolk to that restraining silence was great.

    some music gives you goosebumps consistantly.

    some words give you that little emptiness followed by a vacuum in your throat.. you manage to do it time and time again with your words.

    that was really well written.

  16. Suma says:

    what a great post …and out of eggs too 🙂

    kudos, kavi…well written as always…

  17. Jeevan says:

    That needs much balance, and i am awe at your every post and obvious thoughts.

  18. Kavi says:

    Christine : Thank you for your comment. I hope the ideas are back again…! 🙂

    Ugich Konitari : many thanks for your kind words.

    and yes, the question remains. How many of us have that kind of confidence ?!?!

    Manju : Many Thanks ! I am humbled by that comment!

    nm : Many thanks !

    Swatantra : Many thanks once again.

    Ankit : Thanks for the suggestion. And i guess i will have the copyright thing going at the earliest. Frankly i didnt think of it as big deal, but it does seem there is scope to do more here…! 🙂

    Chandra : Many thanks once again sir !

    Roshini : Egg-heads and Rabbit holes. That would have made a good title i thought ! 🙂

    NS Iyer : Many thanks sir !

    Naperville Mom : Thank you. I hope Vishu was thoroughly enjoyable time !

    And thanks for returning to post the comment ! 🙂

    Amreekandesi : Absolutely. Stage act ! And you know, there are many lives that could become stage acts in any other part of the world !

    And thanks for your kind words !

    Sucharita : Literary Genius ! Gawd ! Thanks ( Psst : i ‘ll tell you a truth. This post is what can be the result of sleepy man with a computuer in front of him..)

    Sundar : Thank you ! My friend told me that i give focus to ‘sappai matter’ ! And i told him that i somehow managed to escape egg on my face. And that was somekind of inspiration for this post !!!

    Suma : many thanks !!!

    Jeevan : Thank you !!

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