It is the season of festivals. Diwali, the festival of lights is upon us. Dipam + Avali = Light + Rows = Row of lights. This festival signifies fundamentally new beginnings, irrespective of whether you are welcoming Ram upon his return from Lanka after defeating Ravana or whether it is the celebration of Krishna killing Narakasura. Diwali is celebrated once in a year.

But, we see the humble traffic light, another row (or column) of lights almost everyday. Do we stop by to think about what message they carry?

My own experience of the traffic light was over 40 years ago. There was not much traffic on the streets and a human with a STOP signage was enough to control the potential chaos at an intersection. One fine day, the city council decided that the small little town also should have a traffic light. So was installed the first one near the SMV High School Junction at Thampanoor, Overbridge. But, this was way mundane than the modern day wonder that you see. Yes, it had all of three colours – RED, YELLOW and GREEN. As it was a four way junction, the traffic light had four faces (and not ten!). But, the human was not ready to trust the machine, yet! So the control was transferred to a booth in the corner, where the human looked at the traffic and decided which direction should be given the green signal or red. There was initial confusion when the human struggled to understand the interface, machine glitches such as the more than one direction getting the green signal, the awe struck driver who fell in love with the traffic light on first sight and was rooted in his position and a group of kids and old alike who chose to watch the wonder from the sidewalk. Over a period of time life became normal and the control gradually passed on to the machine.

Whenever, I stop at any traffic light I look back on my experience of the first traffic light. And over a period of time, I have also looked upon the traffic light to signal to me some principles. Here is a short summary of what a traffic light means to me – beyond being a regulator of traffic!

1] Man and machine have to live together: Modern day traffic lights are automatic and sometimes intelligent. For example, they can change colour based on time or traffic density in a particular direction or the light intensity can change based on light conditions outside. But what if the power supply fails or if the President’s cavalcade is passing by or if there is a malfunction. The human seamlessly takes over and restores the traffic. It may not be as orderly as our humble traffic light but we retain the power to jump in front of a vehicle to stop it from jumping the signal.

With machines taking over many activities and likely to take over many more in the future, the humble traffic light provides a template. When there is high traffic (as in high intensity operations or past data), the machine may be a better bet and when there is less traffic the human can be more efficient. Further, templates and rules have to be established for human to take over the machine in times of need as well as for upgradation and maintenance. So the future is a good marriage of human and the machine.

2] Everything is not black and white : The clear action colours are red and green. One is to STOP and the other GO. And that was how it began. However, as the complexity of the traffic increased at the intersection, there was a need for a third colour to signal the need for caution or get ready as the case may be. Similarly, life does not deliver everything in black and white. We encounter amber many times. May be it is a signal to slow down. May be it is a signal to evaluate more carefully the pros and cons. for me it is also a signal that we must need to learn to live with ambiguity many times. But move we must.

3] You are in competition with yourself : Sometimes I have gotten ahead of my neighbour at the traffic light, only for him to catch up with me at the next one. Or vice versa. Has this happened to you? Very common is it not!

The traffic light teaches us this home truth – “You are not in competition with others you are in competition with yourself”. Life is a marathon and not a 100 meter dash. You may win some and get ahead of others at one signal, but the next one may become an equaliser. Driving at our own pace and respecting the rules means we increase the probability of going further. Racing against another may be fun in the short run, but in the long run it is better to race against ourselves.

4] We achieve very little without an inner drive : The traffic light will die without electricity. Incidentally this is very common in India! And when that happens there is chaos. Try as he might the policemen sometimes find it difficult to regulate the resulting confusion, at least in the initial moments.

Similarly we all need the inner drive, without which we cannot function efficiently. We will be in chaos if we do not seek clarity with respect to direction.

5] Everything requires periodic maintenance or reset : Another common sight is a broken traffic light, either fully or partially. The bulb does not work or the signals misbehave as well or stops working altogether. All because of poor quality construction or lack of periodic maintenance, more often the latter. Our body and mind also needs a periodic reset. Did you go on a holiday this year? (Ok, this year is an exception) Did you spend time with your immediate family and close friends? What is your preferred way of reset and periodic maintenance?

6] Rules are there for a reason, breaking them has a cost : We introduced rules (constitution, traffic rules, laws etc) as complexity increased. Breaking rules at an intersection has a cost. How many times do we see people jumping signal or coming in the wrong direction because the next U turn is a kilometre away!

You put in danger either your life or someone else’s or both. Rules are there for a reason. Respect them. If you believe that they need to be changed (A traffic signal which does not provide an U turn or a right/left turn for example) go ahead and change them by following procedures. Similar to work rules in many places, once a decision (or a rule) is in place respect them and obey them. The community benefit is more important than a temporary inconvenience!

7] There are always decisions to be made : A traffic light gives you options at every signal. We can choose to move forward, take a turn or turn back! In life too we traverse through various intersections. Sometimes we turn back, but most often we go forward or take a turn. Some decisions might help to reach the destination faster and with less hurdle, while others may drag us back for a while. But decide we must. There is no prize for the person who does not move at the traffic light. He will get a hit from behind or be towed to the side!

8] Choose an option that gives dignity : Whenever, we stop at intersections in India, we see two types of folks who approach us. One is a beggar and the second is someone who is trying to sell us something. The items on offer fall into two broad categories a] something for the child (a toy, books or comics, balloons etc) or a car accessory (mobile holder, wiping cloth, perfume, a dashboard cartoon character etc). Life gives all of us options. Choose the one which with dignity. The toy seller could have resorted to begging. But he did not. Instead he choose to earn a living by selling something that we may need. A life of dignity is always better than a beggar’s life.

End note : For a good understanding of the past, present and future of traffic lights click here. Also, next time you stop at an intersection, do honour and celebrate the humble traffic light. What do you see? It is Diwali everyday!