Driving around on Delhi roads is such a thrill!
If you’ve heard reports to the contrary or personal experience doesn’t gel well with what I’ve just said, let me qualify my statement. I am not off my rockers and in a few minutes, you are going to want to experience the thrill of driving on Delhi roads yourself. I promise!
When I say that it’s a pleasure to drive around Delhi, I don’t mean the kind of joy you get cruising down a nice wide road with fellow drivers who are courteous and even have the time to smile as they pass you by. Sometimes, they will even let you go ahead with a polite raise of the hat and a gentlemanly nod of the head. Nope, definitely not that kind of pleasure!
This is the excitement that will be enjoyed by those who like fast paced, obstacle ridden video games; or, by those who watch a high speed chase sequences with bated breath and racing hearts, hoping for a chance to relive all those adrenalin pumping moves. Well, you can when you are in Delhi.
To begin with, you share the road space with at least a dozen different kinds of vehicles – cars, scooters, bikes, buses, autos, cycles, cycle–rickshaws, trucks, mini-vans, hand drawn carts, and cycle drawn carts. And the motivating emotion in all the people on the road is “Me First,” which in turn means outright lawlessness on the roads. The cycles get bullied by the scooters and bikes, which in turn get bullied by the cars, and highest in the pyramid of power are the private buses which drive on the roads like they were on a hara-kiri mission.
So, whatever mode of transport you might choose to be in, there’s always a sense of animated suspense. There’s absolutely no saying what might suddenly pop up in front of you, overtake you from the wrong side, or muscle you into the hedge on the side in their rush to get ahead.
Add to all this mess jaywalkers who believe they have skills of Amazonian monkeys which will help them spring out of the way of a car hurtling down the road at 80 kph; roads that surprise you with potholes where there were none the day before, or even roads that simply give way under your wheels; guys on motorbikes weaving their way in out of traffic like they cared two hoots for their life; cars that attempt to practice for an upcoming Formula-1 race, drivers hurling the choicest of abuses your way for no apparent reason, and stately looking cows that give you a condescending stare if you don’t show due respect for them by stopping your car, what do you get? A colorful metropolitan city road where every minute is a test of essential life skills, every ride is an adventure, and every turn full of suspense.
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