It is only after you have driven on the roads of an alien land that you realize the comaradarie, bonhomie, huge flexibility, complete trust in fellow drivers and willingness to occasionally forgive them for breach of that trust and many other heartwarming traits that mark the driving experience in most places in India. And this is very unlike driving on the roads of the alien occident.
I am sure that the rule-book in India must be as thick a volume as elsewhere. I would be happy if someone who has ever seen and read it could confirm this. However when it comes to practice our genius has reduced the whole thing to just one simple rule: Try and get to the destination by all means and as far as possible, and no farther, avoid bumping into things, people and animals. This translates into a traffic that is far from linear and unidirectional. Traffic flows in all possible directions. But then everyone is expecting it to be so and so carefully scanning the three dimensional space around him and also continuously announcing his own presence through powerful horns. The horn of course is only a general caution and specific cautions are issued verbally by calling names and inquiring about deafness and blindness levels of those around you. Occasional threats of violence to the offender's own person or his / her female relatives are not uncommon either. All this mutual cooperation and reinforcement allows the multidirectional traffic to go through with fewer accidents than our brethren in the occident might think.
Also unlike the occident, the roads here are shared by cattle, pedestrians (footpaths are for shopkeepers and other sundry vendors), vending carts, push carts, bullock carts, rickshaws with protruding iron bars, wooden planks etc. The totally relaxed way in which they use the road and the sudden Brownian motions in which they engage clearly bring out their total faith in the driving skills of automobile drivers as also their trust in the non-homicidal instincts of the drivers. Jaywalking is an unknown term here and the concept is loathed as opposed to socialism. Everyone has a right to use the road - a common asset - irrespective of whether or not he owns an automobile! The motorists honor the sentiments and reciprocate by displaying similar trust in the agility and resourcefulness of pedestrians when driving in parking lots and similar places.
A term which has very different interpretations here and in the occident is the right of way. The right of way in the occident is strictly rule-based and without regard to the size or speed of the vehicle or abusive powers of the driver. In the virile east, might is right. So a driver with the most glaring eyes or more powerful / expensive car or the one with greatest dare or with the flag of the most powerful political party has the right of way. In the cramped spaces between larger automobiles the cyclists, scooterists and motorcyclists have the right of way as long as they can scrape through.
The ethos and the philosophy described above naturally imply a total disregard for signals and similar trappings. Though the signals may be reluctantly and grudging acknowledged if reinforced with the presence of traffic cops. Of course even this applies only to lesser mortals and not to those who are acknowledged as VIPs. In my part of the country if you were to stop at a red signal, with no cop around or only a disinterested one manning it, you are quite likely to be honked and yelled at. If you persist you will face fiery glares from those forced to overtake you because of your obstinacy.
This is not to say that the authorities are taking it all lying down. They are trying to hammer in some sense by constructing dividers and better roads etc. However the ingenuity displayed by public at large is a more than adequate match for such gimmicks. You may read about it here: Bipolar Magnetic Law of the Road.
So what happens when you attempt to drive in the occident after having been conditioned by the ethos and the philosophy described above? Well that deserves, in the least, a new write-up.
Also unlike the occident, the roads here are shared by cattle, pedestrians (footpaths are for shopkeepers and other sundry vendors), vending carts, push carts, bullock carts, rickshaws with protruding iron bars, wooden planks etc. The totally relaxed way in which they use the road and the sudden Brownian motions in which they engage clearly bring out their total faith in the driving skills of automobile drivers as also their trust in the non-homicidal instincts of the drivers. Jaywalking is an unknown term here and the concept is loathed as opposed to socialism. Everyone has a right to use the road - a common asset - irrespective of whether or not he owns an automobile! The motorists honor the sentiments and reciprocate by displaying similar trust in the agility and resourcefulness of pedestrians when driving in parking lots and similar places.
A term which has very different interpretations here and in the occident is the right of way. The right of way in the occident is strictly rule-based and without regard to the size or speed of the vehicle or abusive powers of the driver. In the virile east, might is right. So a driver with the most glaring eyes or more powerful / expensive car or the one with greatest dare or with the flag of the most powerful political party has the right of way. In the cramped spaces between larger automobiles the cyclists, scooterists and motorcyclists have the right of way as long as they can scrape through.
The ethos and the philosophy described above naturally imply a total disregard for signals and similar trappings. Though the signals may be reluctantly and grudging acknowledged if reinforced with the presence of traffic cops. Of course even this applies only to lesser mortals and not to those who are acknowledged as VIPs. In my part of the country if you were to stop at a red signal, with no cop around or only a disinterested one manning it, you are quite likely to be honked and yelled at. If you persist you will face fiery glares from those forced to overtake you because of your obstinacy.
This is not to say that the authorities are taking it all lying down. They are trying to hammer in some sense by constructing dividers and better roads etc. However the ingenuity displayed by public at large is a more than adequate match for such gimmicks. You may read about it here: Bipolar Magnetic Law of the Road.
So what happens when you attempt to drive in the occident after having been conditioned by the ethos and the philosophy described above? Well that deserves, in the least, a new write-up.
Humorous and factual too....and driving within a city is like going thro maze...here I remember the traffic at ambawadi signal at Ahmedabad ....don't know if it's still like that,
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