Mere mahaan Desh ke A-Shisht Naujawaan

For a change I tried to come to office a little early. I somehow managed to wake up at 6ish… got ready… and left from home at 8:35. But it didn’t make much of a difference, as I reached office at 9:15. Thanks to the traffic in Bangalore. Though I reached office a little before I generally come.

I had been thinking a lot, whether it is ‘cuz the drivers of the auto-rickshaws and the public buses are all uneducated, and don’t have traffic sense. Those huge buses will enter into the roads just enough to fit themselves, making a huge queue behind them. The auto-rickshaw drivers… my favorite topic of discussion. Auto-rickshaw driver are just what you say reverse sensed aliens on the road.

The general behavior when we take a turn is, we give indicator, look back and sideways and then turn… now the rick-driver’s way… turn, look back and sideways, and then finally peeking out their arm to show they had turned. I mean they do everything required but there is something called as a sequence… (same as when a mother asked a girl what does she wanna do when she grows old, and the girl replies, “I wanna become mother, become graduated, and get married.” The mother shockingly says, “do whatever you want to do but please do it in a proper sequence”)

Well, if I want I can talk and talk about the rick-guys… but that’s not the reason I decided to write a blog on the Bangalore traffic.

Today, I was just dazed to find out another reason for traffic problems. What I saw has changed my whole idea of taking things about being a professional.

When I reached at the first signal (actually a crossing controlled by a traffic police man), the opposite lane was moving. The motors on my side had to wait. I had to take a right turn, like most of them. I stopped my bike behind a vehicle just to the left of the yellow line(in India where the roads are very tight, there are no divider, just a yellow colored line, dividing the traffic flow.) within few vehicles, both four-wheelers and two-wheelers stopped to my right, crossing the yellow line. The result… the opposite moving lane stopped as the road got blocked… and my lane was anyhow not moving.

It took ten minutes for that mess to get cleared…On next signal(an actual traffic-light operated crossing), I had to again stop for the other lane was moving. But I saw a blinking light on the traffic signal, marking free left turn. I had to go straight. So I stopped between the left and right lane(in India there are very few roads with central-lane, as the width can accommodate only two.) I saw many people in the left still waiting. For a second I thought they are dumb not to go ahead as free turn but I realized it soon they didn’t have to take the left turn. But ‘cuz of ‘em those who had to go to left couldn’t go. I could see the frustrations on those poor fellas. But no use.

Well, I forgot to tell you that a couple of those standing at the left actually didn’t even intend to go straight but rather they wanted to take a right. I was completely freaked out. What is the need to stand in the left if you want to go right. There were many behind me, who could have crossed the signal, if those two drivers would have considered struggling through the crossing lane as a “Stupid Act”.

And yes, all those who have got this opportunity to have their mentions in my blog were all well-educated, with an odd of 7 to 9 were carrying laptops(a sign they were cultured), most of them were softie guys, and cent percent youth of “Buland Bharat”.

We are in an urge to grow the traffic sense on the road at least in these people. If we can’t follow, being refined, how do we expect outta those megamoth buses and those inverse-minded rick-drivers.