The depiction of Spartan army in the movie 300 was particularly spectacular. According to Wikipedia, a Spartan would either return victorious or return dead from a battle. If he is missing his shield on return, it was assumed that he had fled the battle, and would be punished with death or imprisonment.
The shield was not just a personal defense mechanism, but a battle strategy used by Spartans. A group of Spartans would form a Spartan phalanx, in which every soldier protects the soldier to his left – an impenetrable formation.
I’ve been accused of switching context in my blog posts very fast, so that there is no connection between beginning and end. Well, you’ve to bear with me, my brain is totally random and so are the thoughts.
Pre-history battle context to present day metropolitan lifestyle – man has always invented (and discovered) shields to safeguard himself and things he cares about. One such invention is the “helmet”. In India, I don’t see much enthusiasm among drivers to use helmets. Perhaps they like their brains to remain free of any cages – like to feel the whiff of fresh air on their bare faces while driving.
I’ve been taught the importance of this device, not in theory but by practical experience. Imagine a long smooth road, traffic flowing at reasonably fast speeds. All thanks to our pro-active government which is always concerned about development of the nation – imagine barricades right in the middle of this road – not static, but being moved around by workers. Car A brakes from 90 kmph to 0, Car B behind it brakes 80 kmph to 0. Oops, you’re behind that Car B, going at a good 80 kmph – the only problem being you just have two wheels, braking too hard makes you skid.
The distance between Car B and you is constantly reducing. The speed of your bike – 80, 70, 60, 50, 40 – crash! Your bike goes from 40 to 0 in one impulse. As our Newton baba had said, every moving “body” has inertia – according to that rule – “your” body flies off the bike and you hit the car with your head. What do you think – the driver is dead or alive?
Case A: There is no helmet. Just his head and the car. End of story, parents shattered, friends sad, girlfriend broken.
Case B: There is a helmet. A minor sprain on his arm, which gets fine in a week. And one year later, he is sitting and writing a blog post on helmets.
Just like the Spartan world, there is a nominal fine (and even imprisonment) for driving without helmets in most metropolitan cities. However, unlike that era – where the shield was “primarily” for safeguarding – we use helmets just to avoid the fine. Often my friends say, hey why are you taking helmet, we wont be crossing any police post while going to so and so place. The helmet is for your head, not to show to traffic policemen waiting to earn some easy money.
Okay, why is the title “broken armor”? This post is not for any of my readers, but a motivational post for myself. The helmet I use is damaged at multiple points – perhaps doesn’t really protect my head completely. Although I thank
God that it hasn’t been required to do any “protection” in the recent months, however this is a wake up call for me to get a new one as soon as possible. Keeping fingers crossed until then.
Adios.
Every morning, I wait at 3 traffic signals for my turn to go through. If I’m very lucky, the signal is green when I approach. If I’m lucky, the queue is short. If its a normal day, I’ve to wait for two or more times for it to turn from green-to-red-to-green. There is nothing I can really do about time wasted at traffic signals (except getting up at 6 am, and leaving for office at 7).
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