For those of us who manage to comprehend it, Google maps are a magnificent gift of technology. And that is because while commuting from one place to another, they give us helpful and precise guidance, in a clear and concise manner.
Its website claims that it offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360-degree panoramic views of the lanes, real-time traffic conditions and route planning, for travelling by foot, car, bicycle or public transportation. The reasoning for all this excess of information is that if you apply it, there is no chance of you getting lost. Ever!
However, we all know that, in real life, this is not true because people who are constrained by a lack of navigational skill continue to wander around. In circles, that is. The robotic programmed voice gives up on us after a certain point and, in such situations, the only thing that works is stopping the car, and asking for directions.
Now, this is easily done when one is driving alone because there are many people on the road who offer to help. Some of them go out of their way by volunteering to follow in their car till one’s destination is reached. If they can not do so, they exchange phone numbers to find out later whether one has arrived safely or not. The kindness of such strangers is simply amazing.
My two brothers, who had taught me how to drive some three decades back, had suggested that this was the best strategy to use if I ever got lost. At that time, there were no GPS or Google maps and most often one was simply guided by the sheer strength of one’s instincts.
The streets were also not clearly marked and the landmarks were continuously changing. For instance, if on a given day, there was an empty plot at the crossing from where one was to take a turn, the next day, the same spot would be filled by a row of brand-new shops.
Therefore, both my siblings never asked for assistance even when they drove in concentric circles, clueless about their whereabouts. Never! They simply wandered around aimlessly till the right path materialised out of thin air, somehow. But the real fun started when someone was foolish enough to ask them for directions because, without batting an eyelid, they sent them off on a wild goose chase.
It disturbed me initially, to witness such a farce, but my brothers had a blast and laughed uproariously while despatching unknown people to incorrect destinations. If I stopped them, they labelled me a spoilsport or a killjoy, which provided an instant halt to my protestations.
I can’t remember exactly when my behaviour switched drastically, and my personality started to resemble theirs. Maybe it happened gradually, but one day I discovered that I liked to give directions to strangers simply because they listened to me in rapt attention. So even if had no knowledge about exactly where they wanted to go, I steered them towards some alien place anyway.
“Why did you ask them to turn left?” my husband exclaimed recently when I guided some tourists towards a wrong location.
“I said go straight and then turn”, I explained.
“But their venue is in the opposite direction”, my spouse was horrified.
“They will find it eventually, don’t worry”, I giggled.
“You are just like your brothers”, he accused.
“Birds of a feather behave like each other”, I improvised laughing loudly.
By Nickunj Malik
|| features@portugalresident.com
Nickunj Malik’s journalistic career began when she walked into the office of Khaleej Times newspaper in Dubai thirty-one years ago and got the job. Since then, her articles have appeared in various newspapers all over the world. She now resides in Portugal and is married to a banker who loves numbers more than words.
