Horn Hounds

A detour from my short trip to nostalgia made me focus my thoughts on the looming nuisance of noise in India's mercurial cities. 

Unlike the Scandinavian cities with eerie silence even during the day, Indian cities are  full of sounds, all kinds of them. It continuously stresses the ear drums with fervent noises vibrating them at high amplitudes all through the day. Our cities wear a fair like look and create a din that resonates in your minds. The sounds are unmistakably Indian and these are typical to our country alone. 

Though just about a third of India's population live in cities as compared to a little more than 50% in China and over 70 - 80% in developed nations, they are pretty overcrowded and are already reeling under severe shortage of good infrastructure for people and automobiles. Indian  cities are witnessing heavy vertical growth which is unprecedented. More and more migrants in search of jobs are drawn to the city lights every day and the authorities are a stressed out lot trying to make everybody's lives easier. A latest census / survey reveals that India is in dire need of more than 900 million square meters of residential space, 500 km of metro and underground railway systems and over 25000 km of roads every year to cater to the perennial growth of urban space. 

The current situation in Indian cities is similar to disturbing a hornet's nest. The automobile boom in India has choked up the streets in such a way that it leaves little space to even walk about freely. Rampant violation of construction norms set by city development authorities due to gnawing corruption within the departments has led to swanky 4 wheelers beings parked outside homes on spaces meant to be pedestrian sidewalks. On going development projects such as pipe laying, construction of underground drains, cable laying, under pass constructions etc etc also severely cripple the free flow of traffic and expose walkers to serious risk. 

The walkers, especially bear the brunt since their right to walk on areas designated to them has already been encroached upon by car owners and poorly constructed pavements. Speeding cars and trucks honk their way to move ahead through the milling traffic. Particularly in New Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) where driving sensibly is not one's cup of tea, the pedestrians are a harassed lot. Harmless walkers are startled by inhumane drivers who speed about the narrow residential lanes honking away to their glory. The horns here I have observed are so loud and long that it borders on torture rather than annoying. Southern cities such as Bangalore & Chennai are more kind to pedestrians and exercise sensible use of the horns. I have had the opportunity of visiting western cities such as Pune and Ahmedabad and the situations there are not that bad either. 

It is a well established fact that drivers in NCR are most impatient and intolerant. This region has the highest concentration of 4 wheelers when compared with the rest of India which has added very significantly to the infrastructure woes here. It is worthwhile to note that NCR enjoys the maximum allocation of funds from the center for infrastructure development and yet the problems never seem to subside, mainly due to the attitude of people. Lopsided development translates into concentration of employment opportunities in certain regions only and skilled workers need to travel long distances to their places of employment. While Noida has a good concentration of power & manufacturing sector, the IT sector has made Gurgaon their base camp. New Delhi acts as both hubs for all kinds of industries as well as a transit point for people crossing states. 

The traffic congestion in NCR is made of stuff that amounts to legendary. Bumper to bumper traffic that normally stretch to a couple of kilometers are testimony to heightened levels of noise. The high levels of noise pollution has led to the permanent disappearance of several species of birds and animals from Indian cities. Though temporary in nature, noise has lasting effects that are normally detrimental in nature. Call it frustration, but drivers go over the top by adding to the chaos on the streets when they honk their loud air horns with vengeance. It definitely does not help convert the inching traffic to even a canter. 

The noise levels on Indian roads could perhaps be likened to the deafening noises of a mechanized jack hammers that are used to break rocks and roads. On particularly noisy days the levels can be compared with the deathly sounds on a battlefield. Though the law forbids from citizens using horns that emit sounds louder than the allowed dB level, this law is seldom followed and worse the authorities turn a deaf ear to cases of blatant violations when truckers honk air horns during peak our traffic. Air horns are the ones that are used in stadiums and are banned for use in vehicles. These bullies on roads just petrify the small cars and bikes in front of them with their unbearably loud horns. 

I call all of these honk happy drivers as 'Horn Hounds'. They are without minds and resort to this daylight crime. Sudden outbursts of high decibel sounds increases the heart's pace and it can be very harmful for children and senior citizens. I myself had been a horn hound and I resort to mindless honking whenever I drive around in my car in Bangalore. My wife's constant rebuttals has reduced this habit of mine to a large extent. The horn hounds' apathy towards order is more evident when they choose to ignore obvious signs to maintain a silent zone, especially near hospitals, funeral homes, creches and schools. 

I especially detest these truckers who encourage drivers to honk their horns by painting in large prints urging cars and bikes to press the horn to get their way ahead. It is common sight for all Indians when behind a truck. I really wonder, if the trailing traffic would not have ever honked if the truckers did not endorse the same. It is liking authorizing a person for murder. Come on! they would do it anyway! 

I really wish that my fellow Indians would get less horny (pun intended) and when trapped inside the tin boxes, think of something pleasant to kill the time. May be tune into the radio or recall fond memories of your boyhood and contemplate over the reason you got married! But please! pull a plug to those awful horns. After all, no one likes to be called a hound and even dogs do not bark without a reason. 

A careful driver is one who honks his horn when he goes through a red light.

- Henry Morgan

Bus Blues

Continuing with my India - centric topics, this time around I have chosen the humble bus, short for omnibus. The 6 wheeled, diesel powered  machine with doors that swish open at the touch of a button, the mango man's automobile,  is the muse for my latest post. 

It is seldom true if anybody in India hasn't ridden this amazing mode of transportation. It is impossible even for a single Indian, no matter how rich or poor that he / she would have missed a ride in this. Of course, I wouldn't count the scores of those Indians living in the remotest of places, which do not have access to roads leave alone travelling in buses and those millions living way below the poverty line. These are unfortunate exceptions. 

Well, we are all in agreement that we have all had the experience of travelling in buses, so it is all the more easy for each one of us to identify with the situations and the incidents that one comes across while hitching a ride in one of these metallic monsters. 

In the pre - economic liberation era in India i.e. in the 80s, when possession of a private 4 wheeler was the prerogative of the affluent &  rides in the auto rickshaw were reserved only for those special occasions or when your parents were in a particularly good mood, the bus was the obvious choice that was available to move about the city. 

Mostly state owned and even operated by Govt. departments, there was very little choice in the way we traveled. Well, I am still talking about the 80s and the 90s era when these rectangular muscular red buses abounded Bangalore's narrow gullies. However, Bangalore was still free of the IT infestation and the roads though labyrinthine were spacious enough for the free movement of these cattle of the automobile kingdom. 

2 entries, one at the front and one at the rear ensured that curious Georges did not jostle with the ladies. Special reservations for the fairer sex was also a revolutionary idea that put the latter on a pedestal. The friendly conductor would patiently ask the commuters to enter into a contract by selling tiny tickets with so many numbers and letters printed alongside the department emblem that only he could find a purpose for. One could observe the artiste in these men in khakis when they tactfully twisted and turned their wrists to punch half a dozen tiny holes on these paper tickets. These days, the IT city has conductors in Air conditioned buses handing out print outs of these tickets with details of the distance you would be travelling and the names of your embarking and disembarking points. 

The olden buses in Bangalore did not have those doors that swish open and close at the mere pull of a lever or a press of button. The entrances were just large openings at the sides of the bus, accessorized with metallic steps and a namesake railbar. These were the popular 'footboards'. Footboard travelling was the adventurous sport and the youth derived an adrenalin rush by dangling perilously on these footboards while the bus rambled along the city's roads amidst traffic that was poised for an explosion of sorts in the near future, when a bespectacled software engineer with rims as thick as 2 five rupee coins placed together, would soon start his dream project with some of this techie pals. The city's long standing monicker of 'Garden city' was all set to change to 'Silicon city'. 

Maybe, our mothers fed us real food back then, we had a robust body structure that had become impervious to the constant upheavals that the bus went through while driving in Bangalore's notorious pot hole ridden streets. I do credit the later governments of having improved the city's infrastructure quite significantly in line with its ever expanding economy and demography. 

As a student, when I did travel in these buses a few times, I experienced the true 'essence' of India. The jam packed buses during the peak hour traffic, especially in the summer gave way to a myriad of aromas (pun intended) to tingle your olfactory nerves. Truly, India has been built on the sweat and blood of its millions of citizens and one could get a first hand account of my fellow countrymen's first contribution. 

Bangalore, at least was blessed with bus stops that had decent shelters for the commuters to rest while waiting for the next bus. Back then, these buses were hardly ever on time and when they did come, they would be packed to the hilt. Tempers would run high when you had to muscle your way, first through those adventurous footboard travellers and then through the men who stood leaning against the support columns inside the bus. You would be the chose target of more senior commuters if you were a student, since (a) you travelled at concessional rates (b) you were small enough to be shouted at and (c) you carried bags that could have easily accommodated another person in its place. 

Another interesting aspect to travelling in these city buses was the 'surprise raids' by the department's vigilance section when they would board a randomly selected bus and would start checking the commuters for their tickets. A ticket - less traveler if found would be the center of everyone's attention as he was in for a grand mortification ceremony at the hands of these profanity happy 'department men' and sometimes women. A short lesson in honesty was mandatory and then came a demand for a hefty penalty. Obviously the poor chap who avoided buying the heavily subsidised ticket in the first place would not be in a position to pay the fine. After having a 'hit' the squad of inspectors move out of the bus along with the hapless conductor who also is in for an unwelcome penalty and a stern warning. Outside you observe the defaulter negotiating hard with the inspectors for an 'out of system' settlement. One would hear a wise crack from a corner of the bus, that the inspectors who usually raided during month ends - their lean period, have finally got what they wanted. 

A common sight on Bangalore's roads is the sight of dozens of people pushing a broken down bus. The buses make more than 5 - 6 trips on a regular route on any given day and they are hardly ever sent over for a thorough maintenance and repair job, except of course once in a year during Navrathri in Sep - Oct when Hindus worship weapons, tools and automobiles. The buses are decked up like bridesmaids on this occasion and are given a full body wash with papier mache ribbons and other decorative items are hung & pasted all over the bus - inside and out. 

Over the last decade at the turn of the new millennium, much has changed for good for the buses of Karnataka in general and Bangalore in specific. Both KSRTC and BMTC are the only state owned transport departments that are consistently raking in significant profits mainly due to their customer - centric programs and introduction of a number of novel schemes that cater to almost every commuting needs of the citizen. Bangalore has the highest number of buses and is second only to Chennai in India followed by Delhi and Mumbai. There are buses of literally all kinds plying the nook and corner of the city. Be it the buses that travel the inner echelons or the buses that shuttle around the city's round peripheral ring roads. There the posh air conditioned Volvos that provide a good enough reason to travel for the city's connoisseurs. There are the mini buses that are designated for routes that have narrow lanes where the big ones find maneuvering a difficult task.

Due to the ticking time bomb of traffic in the city, the state government has been striving hard to promote the use of buses for commuting to school and work. It introduced with much fanfare "Bus day" which is on the 4th of every month. Aimed at encouraging professionals who use their private modes of transportation to get to work to take to buses and at hundreds  parents who block the city streets while dropping their kids to schools, this initiative has been a success and has found an unlikely partner among the IT fraternity who have shown laudable enthusiasm in supporting the government's novel idea. This also reduces the pollution levels and the stress on the traffic management system. 

I take the bus whenever I need to go to the airport in Bangalore. The present day service of the uber cool "Vayu Vajra" is simply awesome and is definitely a pleasant break from the pollution and noise outside of it. The conductors and drivers who are both dressed in eye pleasing whites complete with lapels are cordial and serve with a smile unlike the worked up men in khaki in the regular city buses. 

Kudos to the transport department for having beefed up this section of the infrastructure so very nicely and for making the lives of millions of commuters all the more easy. Thankfully, Bangalore is getting the Metro and this metallic beast of burden will be relieved of some of its problems in the near future. To part off, I have a small bus riddle for all of you to figure out. 

- Have a happy journey. 

You are a bus driver at a station. 10 get on the bus and no one gets off. You drive 10 miles to another station where 3 people get on and 1 gets off. You drive another 10 miles only to get 25 people on and 5 people go off. Next you drive 3 miles while 12 people exit the bus. You drive back to the place knowing that a couple more stops along the way untill the ride is done. At the 2nd to last station 5 people get on and 2 get off. And at the last station (5.5 miles) 25 people get on for no reason and 1 gets off. What is the bus drivers eye color?

The Autorickshaw Diaries

Auto - rickshaws are those ubiquitous three wheeled juggernauts that run around Indian roads ferrying passengers from across the farthest points of a city or a town. These black and yellow machines which recently change colours to a more environmental friendly green and yellow run by private operators act as vital supplements to the burgeoning issue of public transportation. 

In some parts of town where public transportation operated by Government is inefficient or just not enough to cater to people's needs, these little automobiles come to the rescue and are most suited to cover short distances on routes that generally do not appear on the bus map. 

These 3 wheelers are spacious enough for 3 average sized adults to travel in relative comfort. Its 150 CC petrol / CNG fired engine is powerful enough to pull you through some really steep roads. When it comes to air conditioning, you are in for a pleasant surprise as you are privileged with fresh natural air in 360 degree surround. 

Although, these common man's transport do have an excuse of shock absorption in built in them, please do not keep your expectations high when you travel India's famous pot hole ridden lanes in these. 

These 'Autos' come equipped with a customised Made in India taxi meter which runs much faster than these autos themselves. Of course, one might say that a ride in relative comfort comes with a premium.

All this, was about the machine. A machine is incomplete without a man. An ride on the autorickshaw is made most memorable by the experience one derives from the interaction with the rider or the driver. Like most men, autorickshaw drivers range from downright obnoxious to interesting and sometimes even inspiring. 

I recall an incident when I was just a boy of 11 - 12 years. I had just collected my marks - sheet from my school and my mother had kept me company. We were on our way back home in one of those spacious BMTC buses & while disembarking the bus my shell shocked mum suddenly realised that her vanity bag had been flicked off by some extremely stealthy pick pocket. Unfortunately for us, that bag had money, keys to our house, my mum's credit & identity cards and other stuff. My mum somehow got us both home with her presence of mind. Those were the days before the mobile revolution took India by storm. So there was no one we could contact on emergency except for dad. After convincing a nearby shopkeeper that we had really been victims of a smooth criminal, we could call and inform our dad from a pubic telephone and we went home to just grumble over the day's happenings. 

The next day my mum was in for a very pleasant surprise. While at work, she received a call from an acquaintance of ours from whom we regularly bought items for the kitchen. There was good news on the other end. Her stolen purse was found and they were in its possession. Most of the things were in place except of course for some petty cash. Apparently, the thief had used an autorickshaw after the successful 'heist', took out the money and abandoned the bag for which he found no real use. This honest autorickshaw driver who found the bag lying on the passenger seat, took the pain to thoroughly search the belly of the bag and found an invoice belonging to a shop from whom our family used to buy regularly. Though not in his regular route, this good samaritan traced this shop and handed over the bag after much assurance from our acquaintance that the bag would be handed over to its true owner. Mum finally got back her bag with everything intact. Her only grouse was that she could not personally thank this guardian angel. 

This is one of our fondest memories of an autorickshaw and I sincerely wish this honest human being a good life.

There are several other incidents that we would have all heard of how gentlemen autorickshaw drivers have come to the rescue of pregnant women, answered to calls of distress by people being mugged by robbers and even have provided vital leads to police investigating cases. The autorickshaw drivers spend more time on the road than at home and they come across practically all genre of people making use of their services. Most of them would have developed a skill set that enables them to identify the true nature of a person just like the cops have an aptitude to sniff out a criminal from a crowd.

It is also quite interesting the topics that these autorickshaw drivers pick out for discussion. Usually on people's road sense, the harassment they face from the police, deadly affiliations some of their colleagues who have deserted the path of hard work and righteousness that have tarnished the names of their entire fraternity, politics and of course movies. You get more friendly with them and generally they open up their lives in front of you. It is surprising that this 'career' is taken up mostly out of a need rather than out of choice by men belonging to communities and from family backgrounds that stand in stark contrast to the life one can lead by becoming an autorickshaw driver. One often hears about many graduates and even post graduates who believe in leading an honest life becoming rickshaw drivers when society could not provide them with a deserving job.

Autorickshaws provide a respite to many criminals on the path to rehabilitation. The police takes it as a moral responsibility to put back convicted outlaws into mainstream society and tie up with banks & NGOs to sponsor such schemes to help them lead a respectable and honest life.


The professional name of an autorickshaw driver has taken a royal nose dive before the public eye because of the unscrupulous ways of a few wrong doers who believe in holding passengers to ransom, purposely mislead tourists and newcomers to town, flex their muscle & might before the government and threaten to go on flash strikes quite frequently to force the authorities to meekly accept their demands. Today, the public in general have stopped sympathizing with this fraternity as a whole due to the drastic shift in the majority's attitude and dipping servitude, though a few - very few good samaritans still continue to work old school i.e. in the honest way and earn a well deserved livelihood.

I would appreciate if you could all share your best or worst moments in / with the autorickshaw. Maybe a few more good stories will change our bespectacled perception about this class of working men. 

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

Martin Luther King, Jr.