contact

i love making eye contact with people. so many random things happen with just a shared glance with strangers.

today, when i was riding to a friend's place, a car stopped slightly ahead and beside me at a red light. the rear door was opened, and a guy leaned out and poured a fair bit of pepsi on the road right below the door. when he finished, as he was leaning back into the car, he looked up at me, we exchanged a glance... no guesses for what he was up to :D

a few weeks ago, taking the office bus drop on a friday after work, i was sitting beside a girl in the first seat of the bus. i could feel her gaze on me, but whenever i turned in her direction i just caught her turning away. this continued for a few times, until we finally made eye contact: in each others' reflections in glass partition that separated the passenger area from the driver's cabin. i guess we were both too surprised to react, but after a moment, we found ourtselves smiling at each other. in the glass.

a couple of months before that, again when riding along link road one evening, i was waiting at a stop light. the rickshaw in front of me, like most others, had a transparent window at the back. a couple was making out in the rickshaw. at that very same moment that i looked at it and noticed what they were doing, the woman opened her eyes, and we both looked at each other through the window as she continued doing whatever she was with the guy in the ricskshaw. i kid you not.

but all this brings me back to how i got started. it's an interesting thing, especially useful for bikers: how do you know the driver of a larger vehicle (especially a truck) has seen you, before you overtake it from the right?

simple.

you look into their rearview mirror. when you flash your headlights, the driver will look into his mirror. and you will make eye contact.

once i got used to that as a road-safety trick, making eye contact through mirrors just became second nature to me.

i'm just surprised that most people i've asked, don't know about this trick.

it's all so simple to me, really. when i make eye contact with a stranger, the other person suddenly feels human. sometimes, it even makes them an anonymous friend, someone my trust in humanity can be extended to.