If you understand what driving is in India, then you will understand India. I know many of us are critical of how India drives. But believe me just like you can explain every idiosyncracies of a nation, you can do that too about Indian driving. This blog is an attempt to draw parallel between Indian driving and Indian way of life.
India likes noise. I lived in US for 19 years in a secluded suburb with woods in the back. It is as silent as any typical American suburban house can be. Now every time I visit US, I find myself depressed because of the silence and lack of noise. Children file into their school bus silently, you don't hear your neighbor's kid taking vocal music, rarely to you hear kids playing outside and making lot of noise, you don't hear your neighbor's daughter calling out for her grandmother from their balcony. Indians like sound while driving just to tell the person on the road that he is there and not to make a stupid move. Even the stray dog on the road will not move unless you honk at it. Just like Decartes said "I think so I am", Indians believe "I honk so I am alive". That is why the trucks/lorries in India boldly write at the back "Horn Please". They want to know you are there ... only to ignore you!
Why do Indians have to drive slowly?
First the roads don't allow them to speed up. Secondly, while making any turns or merging you have to do it slowly so that the speeding vehicle sees you and slows down for you (there are no right or left turn only lanes in India - all for one and one for all). Finally, every few meters there is a speed bump (or speed breaker). In life too, you are expected to move slowly in India. Sudden moves, unexpected turns are frowned upon because it confuses them. Just like the speed bumps the society puts up artificial speed bumps in our lives (don't sneeze at the doorsteps, don't walk over others legs, you should do pooja sitting not standing).
Why do Indians merge the roads without yielding or looking?
It is the confidence in them that a fellow Indian will never run him down when he is coming from smaller lane (small towns) to larger roads (cities). The other Indians driving on the main roads are always looking out for those merging and never fret about it. They don't wave the 'birdie' at you or take out a shotgun to shoot at you. They patiently slowly down and let the person merge and move on. It comes from long history of letting people of many cultures merge into the Indian mainstream - The Persians (Parsis), the Kushans, The Moghuls, the Afghans, the Greeks, and many more.
In a country of over billion people there is no way you will get a fare chance unless you push yourself to the front of the line. Whether it is getting seat in a bus or getting a seat in an college or a job. Beware of Indians in corporate world! There is no exception, even the women at a buffet table, executives at airport check-in lines, well-dressed at coffee shop, they will go right past you without a shred of guilt and cut the line. So what is wrong in doing the same at the traffic light? The only people who stand in line in India are the foreigners and the NRIs.They never reach the head of the line.
Why is there no "road rage" in India?
Indians believe in "Live and let Live" Philosophy. Which means, you live your way and let me live mine. So they don't set rules how the other person lives or drives. If the other person breaks road rules, they patiently wait and let the person move on. That is why they make space for so many religions and cultures without offending each other. A Hindu reverently touches his chest while passing a mosque or a church, and a muslim does the same while passing a temple (such idealistic co-existence is not necessarily true in some cities these days but it is true in most of India).
Most Indians are not sure whose God is the true God. So they don't take chances and follow all religions implicitly. Look into a cab or an auto rickshaw to understand this better - they usually have pictures of a Hindu deity, Mother Teresa or Mary with baby Jesus, and a picture of the mosque in Mecca or the Sikh Golden temple. Another reason they don't curse at fellow drivers is because they don't know who that person could be - if he is son of local politician, their hand or leg would go missing next day. So they don't take chances and curse.
Most Indians are not sure whose God is the true God. So they don't take chances and follow all religions implicitly. Look into a cab or an auto rickshaw to understand this better - they usually have pictures of a Hindu deity, Mother Teresa or Mary with baby Jesus, and a picture of the mosque in Mecca or the Sikh Golden temple. Another reason they don't curse at fellow drivers is because they don't know who that person could be - if he is son of local politician, their hand or leg would go missing next day. So they don't take chances and curse.
Why do so many people pile into Share-Autos?
This is because it is not possible to provide affordable transportation to everybody by the govt. covering the entire city. So the slack is taken over by enterprising auto drivers who break laws but nobody complains. If we stick with laws then lot of people will be stranded and start walking in roads causing congestion and possible accidents to pedestrians. In real life too, Indians have to share limited housing, water, produce, etc with billion plus population. So they learn to use every bit of what they have. Long before west wanted to recycle and have composts, Indians were doing it. I recollect my childhood days when my mother would not sell old newspapers but grind them to paste use it as sealant. Every onion skin, egg shell went into plants. Every shirt or trouser had to be worn till it was worn to bare threads.
Why do Indians walk on the road and not sidewalks or pavements?
In India, sidewalks are not for pedestrians but for "entrepreneurs" who end up setting up stalls selling vegetables, fruits or serving meals and dosas for the professionals working in the AC offices. If you take these vendors out then the govt. has to get them jobs. In life too, most Indians don't have good enough education to get a decent paying job and most are not eligible for bank loans to start a business. So they look for a tree shade to start a cycle repair shop or shoe repair or selling potted plants or tea stall or food stall selling "chineese nodules". I call them mom-and-pop shops of India.
Of course the other reason sidewalks are not used is when they are converted into public toilets. Again, Indians believe that only their house should be clean and won't think twice to dump their garbage into their neighbor's yard or on the street in front of their house. The same is true with the sidewalk.
Finally, why are Indian roads full of potholes?
Indians believe that life is full of potholes and they are there because of their previous life karma. So they learn to navigate around them just like they do on the roads. Such a patience, such deep understanding of life can only be found on the Indian roads.
Indian roads reminds you that life is not a bed of roses and to move forward in life you have to take small steps, walk slowly, jump lines, navigate around potholes, and finally announce yourself with a honk.
[Disclaimer: This blog is meant to be on a lighter vein. Don't take my analysis seriously but there is an iota of truth in each of the above. Read the following article from NY Times for better understanding about driving in India]
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