Taking the Bull by the horn(s)

The 'Bull' in question here is the hundreds (if not thousands) that we come across each day on the streets of just about any major city in India - Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or even Pune or Nagpur. The 'Bull' in question is among the hundreds who charge at whoever - or whatever - in its way as if that 'it' is a matador to be gored with its horn(s). Well, just in case you haven't guessed, I'm talking about one of the hundreds of two/four wheelers, or more appropriately the beast (yes, you read that right - beast) driving them. And the 'horn(s) of the bull are well - the horns. And these bulls just love to use their horns. Even that would be an under-statement. I guess if the government made it mandatory to strip off all horns from all the vehicles on the road, then some of these bulls would even be depressed enough to commit suicide! That is how much they love the horns. Horn OK Please. 

But seriously, I have the vague feeling that many people on the streets of Bangalore (or Mumbai or ...) drive as if they are playing a video-game. That is by honking their horns at whoever is in their way, the person in front of them is just going to vanish into thin air! Poof! Gone... Honnnnkk!! And poof! Another gone! That's how they use the horn, even if they can see that the guy in front of them is blocked by another in front him/her... And he in turn by another... But our video-game character can just make them vanish by blowing his horn! Then there are the people who would be apt to be gunners in the Services. They use their horns in the same way a gunner uses his automatic rifle. Pee-Pee-Pee-Poh-Pee-Pee-Poh... Off they go firing their 60-rounds-a-minute guns - oh, horns. Then there are the ones who sound their horn as if they are a ship navigating through dense fog. The fog-horn is meant to dispel the cars/bikes/people in the vehicle's way, and warn them of the approaching behemoth. And then there are the bulls who use their horns to just show, well, that they have horns! And fancy ones at that! 

The question then is how to take the bull by it's horn(s). The road-traffic is bad enough without having people honking all around. That too when they can see that honking is not going to make things any better. Quite the converse, actually. It just increases road-rage. And then the honking, like a contagious disease spreads to all in the vicinity. And you have one big jamboree going on. Sometimes, I seriously wish the government would just remove all the horn(s) from these bulls on the road. We'd definitely have a quieter life. Or may be not. People would then yell at the top of their lungs the choicest obscenities.

IT (Impossible Traffic) City

OK, as you must have guessed, I'm about to start rambling about the traffic in Bangalore. Sorry to disappoint you, mate, but while this post is about the traffic in India's IT City, I am not going to curse and swear at the horrible traffic. Instead let me contribute my tuppence to another issue, which is definitely related to the traffic snarls. As I was driving to work yesterday, I was stuck in yet another traffic jam. Well, nothing unusual about this, except that the complete traffic stand-still was before 8 in the morning! And I had thought that commuting at non-peak hours would be pretty much of a breeze! So as I was stuck in the traffic, I just glanced around myself. And noticed all the cars around me. Now in a random sample of cars, I noticed that about 9 in 10 cars had single occupants. The odd car in which there were more (well, two to be precise) was a father dropping off his kid to school. A couple of days back I read a post somewhere about how the state of California guzzles more gasoline than all of India. The post went on to remark how almost every family member there has a gar of his/her own, and BIG cars, at that. Now, while we are still a fair distance away from this situation, I would say that we are getting there - in the metros or IT cities (like namma Bengalooru). OK, so every family member definitely does not own a car here. But because of the sheer numbers - the population - the situation is alarming. Now besides the environmental aspect - fuel demand, quality of air, there is the aspect of the traffic snarls that this gives rise to. In the absence of a good Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, people cannot be faulted for resorting to private transport. But think about the snarls such as the one I was caught in - and I'm sure many of you must have been in, too. The situation can only get from bad to worse, if the government and public do not do something about it. On it's part, the public can definitely resort to car pools, or using the company transport. Or taking a two-wheeler and commuting at non-peak hours. The government can do it's bit by proper urban planning. Whoever thought of putting a two-lane bottleneck in the way of traffic from a four-lane highway?! (That was the bottleneck I was stuck at, and I couldn't help but be exasperated by the lack of planning.) And starting a good MRT system. And once such a system is in place, heavy dis-incentives for private transport. And finally, creating awareness through print and electronic media. Otherwise, it woudn't be long before our cities are shrouded in haze and a clear blue sky becomes consigned to picture postcards.....