Yeh Mera India

India’s 65th Independence Day, and I was reminiscing about the various parts of India that I have seen.

Let me share my observations (nothing more – just observations) on traffic in two areas of this unique and varied country of ours.

Area 1: Chandigarh
The first thing that struck me about this city was the clean, wide roads and the lack of traffic on them. It took me a while to realize that there was actually a significant amount of traffic – be it cars, motorcycles, scootys, autorickshaws or even bicycles. Trucks were conspicuous by their absence.

The impression of lack of traffic was mainly because of the impeccable traffic sense of the people. No one crossed the white line at the signal, lane discipline was immaculate, overtaking was from the right side. In short, proper traffic discipline. Possibly the presence of CCTV cameras at virtually every signal contributed to this.

Also, apart from certain areas, it was rare to find dirt and muck on the streets.

That is one India.

Area 2: UP
I had the opportunity of travelling across the state; from Allahabad, to Lucknow, Kanpur, Rae Bareli and Aligarh. And the first thing that struck me – or nearly struck me – was the motorcyclist coming at full speed from a lane and trying to overtake from the wrong side of the road. A few seconds, and he could have been killed, or worse!

Across the state, the observation was the same. Daredevilry at its best, rash driving at its worst, no regards for road discipline or traffic sense. Signals are working, but being made a mockery of. And the traffic police was conspicuous by its absence.

Everyone seems to be completely ignorant of the traffic rules. Signals are rarely given at turnings, and even when given, are ignored by the guy behind. Turning right from the 3rd lane is as common as Vettel standing on the podium this year.

Speaking of Vettel, I do not think even he can open the door of his car, bend down and spit gutkha, at the same time driving straight at 50-60 kms/hour, as virtually every driver I saw could do with ease!

And that smell, that all-pervasive smell! Why would it not be? I was in Lucknow, near Charbagh, one morning. A BMW 5-Series was ahead of me. We had just taken the left turn on Kanpur Road, going towards Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University when the BMW stopped. No signals, mind you – except that its brake lights worked well. It just stopped. A gentleman emerged from the rear door, walked on the footpath, and proceeded to do his job right there while the driver was waiting for sahab to return.

For God’s sake, the public convenience was less than 100 metres away, in plain sight!

But this is not an isolated instance. Marking one’s territory this way - the way tigers do – is something common, I soon realized.

That is another India.

And we know where most of the drivers in Mumbai come from!

Jai Hind!

Taxi Drivers (again!)

A lovely Sunday morning, a steaming cup of tea after a nice long bath, and my wrist now allowing me to type enough to put down my thoughts - even if slowly and with breaks. What a feeling!


My first post after my accident, and suddenly the rush of thoughts I had on the many things I wanted to write about seems to have rushed away. :-)

Gathering these scattered thoughts of the past couple of months is an exhilarating exercise in itself. So many thoughts, such feelings, experiences, people met etc. that one wants to write about.

I resumed office on April 5. And due to the fact that I still have the problem in the knee and muscles, I have been using taxis and autos to travel to office and back. And what an interesting mix of taxi drivers I have met!

Nearly every taxi driver who has taken me to office and back had to ask me the same set of questions, “Accident? Kaise Hua (How did it happen?)”. And then the standard “Chalo kam mein tal gaya. Aur ho sakta tha (Good it was only this much. It could have been worse)”.

It is interesting how we tend to look at the positive of life. I mean, here I have a broken wrist, broken toe, missing toenails and a crushed kneecap. And it could have been worse! Someone is in hospital with a serious ailment where he would take months to recover. And it could have been worse!

But then, it is this positive outlook that takes us through the ups and downs of life!

Anyway, as usual, I digress.

After the standard questions – which I have now learnt to answer in about 9.37 seconds – the drivers launch into sharing their own experiences for the rest of the journey. And that has my hair standing on end.

Virtually every driver has a horrific accident story – if not his, then of some other driver closely known to him. And these stories are around broken ankles, shin bones, femur etc. It is as if nearly half of Mumbai’s taxi drivers are driving around with some injury or the other. One driver even took advantage of a traffic signal to show me the scars on his stomach and right leg, and believe me, it was as if he had come out of a war zone!

It frightens me to be sitting there in the front seat of a half battered car with a driver who should be eligible for a disability pension, and yet, driving away with the zest of a Sebastian Vettel!

And for all those Mumbaikars who have the experience of flagging down an auto or a cab, only to find the driver refusing your fare, I must share that I am not in that league any longer. Just the sight of my crutch and splint are enough for them to open the door without even asking the destination. I’ve had only a couple of drivers refusing, for genuine reasons, and they were so apologetic, I had to pinch myself. One driver ferried me from Wadala to Lower Parel, and only when we reached my office did he mention that he had to go to Sion – exactly in the opposite direction!

A few drivers have even got out, helped me out of the cab, and carried my crutch and bag for me right upto the office lift.

Made me change my opinion about whether these drivers had feelings!

But there is one thing on which my opinion has not changed. Irrespective of the nature of the passenger, and the lovely stories he has shared with him, some drivers have to cheat on the fare.

What else explains the 25% variation in the fares that I pay for the same distance?

But seriously, Anthony Quadros!

About a fortnight ago, a city tabloid carried an interesting interview with the general secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union, Anthony Quadros. In that interview, he raised a few very interesting demands, which left me in splits for a long time.

He demanded...I wonder why every union leader only demands? Can’t they request, suggest, discuss? Demand – huh!

Anyway, I digress. And let me write this in first person to Anthony.

Anthony, you demanded rest places, taxi stands, transit points, urinals, a place to have their meals and an ‘engaged’ taxi board, which can be used by the driver at the time of rest.

All very valid demands, except that they all already exist!

Let’s talk about urinals first. In case your taxi drivers have not noticed, Anthony, there’s one large urinal just opposite CST. Take the JJ flyover from there, and there’s one at Byculla market – about 10 minutes drive from CST. The next one is at Parel, near the Railway Colony. Move ahead, and you’ll find one at Dadar TT, under the bridge. Four urinals that I can show you in a stretch of about 10 kilometers – there may be more. And in case your driver has to take a right at Wadala towards Bhakti Park, there’s one large urinal right next to the Customs Ground on Anik-Wadala Road. But this one, I’m absolutely certain, is invisible to your taxi drivers. After all, hundreds of taxis are parked all around this urinal, water is used from there to wash the taxis, but one always finds the drivers standing on the side of the road doing their thing all around the urinal but not going inside.

What next? Rest places, taxi stands, transit points. Can you explain to me the differences between the three? Because the 4 taxi stands that exist between Koparkhairane Sector 6 and Vashi Sector 17 – a distance of 5 kms (lesser, if you actually measure it, Anthony) have rest places, are also transit points and have rest place – and also have enough places around for taxi drivers to have their meals.

Anything else? Ah, the engaged taxi board. But then, doesn't the existing ‘half-down’ meter signify that the taxi is engaged?

You also mentioned that your taxi drivers refuse to ply certain passengers because they need to take some rest. I am unable to fathom how a taxi driver who refuses to take me from Phoenix Mills to Doordarshan because he wants ‘to take some rest’ is immediately refreshed when the person next to me asks him to go up to Bandra or Andheri! Please let us know the secret of this immediate energy - it will be very useful for a lot of people like me.

But seriously, Anthony Quadros!