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It's probably the chemical soup that passes for air
in Delhi that is causing the rampant madness on Delhi's
roads. People who in their homes or offices are models
of sanity and civility become brash boors behind the
wheel. Particularly when the wheel belongs to one of
the newer model cars that can reach 80 km within five
seconds, or ten. How do you reach 80 km when ahead of
you is a bullock-cart filled with construction girders
almost poking you in the eye? Or a pushcart filled with
stinking rubbish that is flying at your windshield.
I drive - and in the last four years or so my blood
pressure has reached a new high and my vocabulary -
a new low. My car is not one of the newer models but
it nevertheless gets up to a respectable 70 km with
a little coaxing. And since I am not one to take things
lying down - I lean on the horn with a determined glint
in my eye, making angry eye contact with anyone coming
in my way - and believe me, I get to where I'm going
in good time, usually. That's if a procession - religious,
political, activist, whatever - doesn't take over the
roads. With driving habits like these, few Delhi drivers
would pass tests anywhere in the world.
 However,
it has to be said that if you can drive in this city
and reach your destination through years of commuting
without experiencing any major mishap, then you are
an excellent driver. Probably nowhere else in the world
do so many different kinds of vehicles vie for a piece
of the road - and no where else do these vehicles span
so many centuries of design: bullock-carts, camel-carts,
tongas, rickshaws, push-carts, bicycles, tricycles,
scooters, three-wheelers, ancient, slow-moving Fiats
and Ambassadors; massive rattling trucks and buses -
even the occasional Standard - remember them? Not to
mention elephants and horses during the wedding season
- and of course, the ubiquitous sacred cows! Weaving
your way between these motley methods of conveyance
is no mean feat - and calls for a very high degree of
skill and nerves of tempered steel.
And after all that - if I do get the occasional ticket
for jumping a red light or improper parking - I usually
pay with good grace and get on with the business of
getting to my destination - fighting grimly with the
obstacles that would hold me back - letting nothing
stand in my way! After all - my school motto was: 'aut
viam inveniam aut faciam' which means: 'I will either
find a way or make one'. Appropriate.
- Shanta Bhalla
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