‘Queue’s

It was just by my good deeds(surely!) in past lifetimes and blessings of my elderly well wishers that I passed the daunting Data structures ‘gracefully’ during the wonder years of engineering! I am sure my teacher must have treated my other tuition-mates for my stunning 40% score. Not that I am so dumb (if you have doubts on this statement; please take it offline; don’t post a comment ;)) but I was so very confined to my books to not realize how these structures have captured our whole world…

<>I always strenuously refused to approve of existence of any data structure other than the ‘queue’. Righteousness being the back-bone of my idealism; I find Queues to be the only fair way a bunch of entities should be collected. First IN should indeed be first OUT! Fair enough! Be it efficient or things like that I find stacks very unfair. Queues being part and parcel of everyone’s lives are so unique and distinct. I recollected standing in the queue in the university for re-valuation of a paper wherein I had almost flunked. Mentally devastated me; but was a bit consoled to find a large number of students aheading me sailing(or drowning) in the same boat. It gave me a dash of nerve to face the fact of being a failure; merely since I wasn’t all alone. Contrary to that just after a couple of years; life made me march in walk-in queues of many companies. Almost whole day without any food; carrying weight of heavy cluster of certificates; transcripts and books like Lafore/Tanenbaum to revise key-concepts(which never helped anyway!); striding slowly ahead under scorching sun; the length of that queue had discouraged me bigtime. The hope of getting placed would evaporate bit-by-bit with each candidate coming out of the interview hall flaunting his selection. Queues for ‘checkin’s at the airport are yet again annoying one’s as they trim down the probability of a window seat. Ironically they also permit your dearone’s to watch you longer from beyond the visitor’s windows. Their faces reflecting pain of separation, pleasure of your life progressing ahead and anxiety of “when do we meet next” all together makes your heart heavier than the trolley you’re pushing…

Not to overlook the queues at the VISA consulates especially the US. Children, oldies, ladies, students; teachers all footed all day long bearing the beggar-like treatments from the consulate’s non-residential American and unfortunately(according to them) of Indian-origin staff. Considering the tension in air, it feels like VISA rejection seems to be far more thwarting than being HIV positive. I have met one of my favorite, very famous and rather glamorous writer in the rest-room queue of a Drive-in on Mumbai-Pune highway. Having bumped into her; I almost disregarded my original urgency of visiting that vital edifice; but since the reciprocal wasn’t the same; alas! she didn’t acknowledge my spontaneous and jovial compliments other than a stringent and hard-pressed ‘thank-you’. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of a celebrity even in ‘that’ situation and was glad enough to validate that basic instincts are still basic for all!!! he heJ

Queues in the bus, queues before the railway reservation counters! Those for the ration and for water in dense slums in metropolitans are similar to those during elections for dropping a vote: with majority of illiterate angootha-bahadoors. Those to grab better seats at the cinema hall; those to get catch early bird prizes at supermarket; each one has their own existence and strategy!

Philosophically and religiously, lines in courtyards of affluent temples are supposed to be queues; but they seem more like linked lists! If you have appropriate ‘pointers’; you can very well overtake all the members! Same seems to be the case in Mantralaya’s. Separate multilevel Queues for quota holders in educational institutes dumping all the ‘outstanding’ students are truly frustrating. Ray of hopes ablaze to participate in the human chains; protesting hard for a cause.The never excavated ‘stacks’ of files in government offices and that of majestic wine glasses skillfully arranged on the shelf of a grand hotel: same structure; yet so different. The procession of cars stuck in traffic jam; suffocated in the smoke; tired, weary and a gang of friends at the perfumed wedding; awaiting excitedly to congratulate the newly wed couple. Same arrangement…just a different composition!

Whatever it is; one thing is true. Be it in a stack be it in a queue;. Be it in a circle or just a haphazard random horde; getting together is important. What say?

-Pradnya Joshi

22^nd May 2006