Some Basic Concepts for Driving in India

So you fancy yourself ready to drive the hi-ways, by-ways and no-ways of India. Well let me tell you that it can be a very rewarding experience. After every ride you go on you will get out of your car, or off your bike and kiss the ground you rode on in gratitude that you survived another misadventure.

Actually there’s basically one or two concepts that I want to share with you that has helped me survive my recent travels from Barmer, Rajasthan to Manali, Kullu and back and these are:

Concept 1) Always drive defensively.

Now this may seem self evident, but after you have driven a while you may have the tendency to become a little to confident in your skills and analysis of the driving patterns you engage in and think to yourself that you’ve got it. So here’s my next concept for you to mull over.

Concept 2) When you think you’ve got the hang of driving in India, stop where you are and slap yourself strongly enough to get rid of that egotistical thought.

Why, because you will never understand Indian driving and there is a good and logical reason for this: no one does or ever will. Here’s why: You see some drivers here think there are rules and try to abide by them, some know there are rules and just ignore them, some are not even aware of any rules and drive as they wish, some are too young to drive but drive anyway and have no concept of anything, let alone driving and should be driven far away from as possible, and most drivers don’t have any idea what driving is all about, from etiquette to the physics of moving masses and beyond.

Please understand, all this seemingly negative or dismissive talk about the way Indians drive is none of the sort. I am merely trying to describe the driving scene as I see it and have experienced it. In all considerations of the “art” it always comes down to Concept 1 above.

So what does it mean to drive defensively? Will to start with, you must always where a helmet when driving a motorcycle. I know that when you look around and you see that most bikers do not wear a helmet and you like the feeling of the air blowing through your hair and catching bugs in your teeth. But you also love yourself (or at least respect yourself) and so show the world your love and respect and put the hard hat on. You will also be doing a community service by modeling to those who don’t wear helmets, the right/safe way to drive. And besides, if you do have an accident resulting in a head injury and you were not wearing your helmet, you health insurance will be invalidated.

But there are many other good reasons to wear a helmet: the visor keeps bugs, stones, dust and heat (or cold) off your face. If you drive long distances with no helmet (or the visor is up) your eyes will quickly dry out and get irritated as will your lips. Hence you are no longer kissable. A helmet also keeps your head a bit cooler/warmer as it insulates your head from the outside heat/cold, especially if your are using a white coloured one, which I think is the insurance rule in any case.

Driving defensively also means never, and I mean never never never never take your eyes and mind off the road. No daydreaming, not putting your vehicle on automatic control, no looking around to admire the scenery (unless you desire to become a part of the scenery). Driving in India means having a long attention span. If you don’t have one now, you will. Why, because every conceivable and inconceivable obstacle will come at you from all directions. Let me list a few so you get the idea:

Cars, trucks, buses, military vehicles, construction vehicles, motorcycles and scooters, bicycles, three wheelers, tractors, ox carts, camel carts, horse carts, goat carts, people (every variety), dogs, goats, cows (and you already know there’s lots of those around) cats, peacocks and hens, deer, chickens, vultures, rats and road hazards such as bricks, stones, boulders, sand, mud, glass, garbage, re-bar, dung (all types) holes and bumps, just to name a few. But there’s another catch, if you drive at night, most of these objects do not have any lighting whatsoever, including the motorized kind. And recall what I wrote in the previous paragraph, these challenges will come at you from the front, head on (remember the rules of the road: there are none), from the sides and rear and even from above and below. Never underestimate a falling tree or a truck that is packed too high and is about to rip out the power lines above it while you’re driving behind it.

Again, let me reassure you that although these things may seem comical to our foreign ways, these things all exist and happen (but not necessarily at the same time, but then again I suppose I could be proven wrong on this point).

Another lesser known defensive driving technique that I have found to work in many situations, is just to stop where you are, or in some cases like when a truck in heading directly at you at 100 kph, get off the road a.s.a.p. or sooner. When I first drove in India back in 1976 I was told that one of the rules of the road was that the slowest vehicle has the right of way. A bit oxymoronic I admit, but I have found that when I can’t figure out what to do in a complicated situation I just stop and wait for the dust clouds to clear. But use your judgement on this on as it pertains to Concept 1.

And one more little thing. If at all possible, don’t drive at night. Some of the reasons for this have been mentioned above, like objects on the road with no lighting, but also when there are vehicles with lights they will normally be on the high-blind-the-driver-coming-at-you level. And as a matter of interest the signs you see on some trucks that say: “Use your dipper at night” has no known English translation.

Hope these few thoughts don’t scare you off the road, but if you are planning a trip by vehicle somewhere, please call me for a whole lot of other details that could fill volumes.

I love to travel, But hate to arrive. -Albert Einstein

Chanchal

Chanchal is a 33 year old woman, married to Sudhir Tailong. She has a beautiful 5 year old daughter Sabhya who comes over to the office after school and loves to play with me. Chanchal works in our office as a part time consultant and I have recently been working on some R&D with her on the drought situation in Rajasthan in order to write a paper to find funds for the local villagers. (see the report at http://societytoupliftruraleconomy.blogspot.com/ )

Chanchal is first of all a very beautiful woman with an intense look when she speaks with you. I often feel like the rabbit caught in the headlights of the car, unable to move. She is a very intelligent and sensitive to the pain and suffering of those in need. This sensitivity drives her work. It has been a real pleasure to watch her work and be a part of the effort to we share here at SURE.

She also is an amazing dresser. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t think in all the time I’ve been here I’ve seen her in the same outfit twice and always a beautiful sari.

She has also been a good friend, helping me from the beginning to find a home and settling in, being concerned when I have been sick and helping me find resources for my home. I am very grateful to know her and know we will continue our friendship even after I leave India. In fact, I have been encouraging her to come to Canada with her husband and daughter.

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.

Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof. - R. Bach

Attachments

       

Reflections

There is always so much a parent wants to share with their children.  Some of these things are cleverly disguised lessons in life, but most of it is just a sharing of family history. Sharing like this is a very important part of making and maintaining relationships.  Perhaps this is a part of our human need to tell each other stories and pass on our personal tradition. A young child, say from 1 to 25 years old, is not that interested in family history.  For them the world is an amazing and evolving place, one that will go on forever, so why dwell in the past?  Time, as we know, changes that perspective.

I am 57 years old. When I think about how fast time has gone by I can not fathom how it does it or what is I think I am experiencing.  When I think back 20 years, I was only a just learning to be a father.  If I try to imagine 20 years from now, 77, it does not even register an image in my brain.  Maybe my journey will over, but if not, and I certainly hope not, I hope I am still energetic about the adventure I have been traveling on all these years.

There is still so much I yearn to learn, to do, to go, people to meet, foods to taste, music to play. I have been interested in so many aspects and details of life that I never know when to put something down.  Today I am reading David Bornstein’s book on social entrepreneurs and I feel a great kinship with what he is writing.  I keep saying to myself as I read: “ I did that!”  and “I just wrote that in my proposal!” or “I learnt that when I interviewed the Indian NGO consultants!” And so on.  I may be a social entrepreneur, but only a baby one.  In any case I will need a few more decades before I can really call myself one.

Here in India I am discovering a new culture.  Actually many cultures, as there are so many that are laid out across my door.  And within each culture are sub-cultures and sub, sub cultures, each with their own wonderful flavours and surprises.  How do I share this information with my child?  How do I tell her she may not have another chance to spend with her dad, intimately exploring the exotic landscape and people of India?  She is miraculously caught up in the enjoyment of her own budding career.  There no time for family or adventures now. Time as we know, will change that perspective. But will it come in time?

I lived for thousands and thousands of years as a mineral. 
Then I died and became a plant.
I lived for thousands and thousands of years as a plant. 
Then I died and became an animal.
I lived for thousands and thousands of years as an animal. 
Then I died and became a human being.
Tell me, what have I ever lost by dying?
- Rumi

 

 

 

The Day I Saw the Prime Minster of India

The afternoon before the day the PM was going to be in Barmer to dedicate the new Cairn oil well to the nation I did not have an invitation.  I tried to get my NGO to arrange one for me as they all had invites to go but no such luck.  So I called my connection in Cairn, Shankar and he told me I could come, he would have my invite at the entrance.

That night I didn’t sleep well as I discovered that no one in the office was going to the event, except maybe Hitesh.  Most were out of town for various reasons and no one could tell me where the event was.  My Shankar’s phone was not working, or he was too busy planning the celebration to answer.  So I didn’t know when or where and I really wanted to go to see the PM for some strange reason. I got up early and ate a good breakfast and then proceeded to make multiple calls and drove around to try to find out the necessary details I needed.  Finally Hitesh called me and told me to hold still, he got me Magraj Jain’s pass, which he delivered to me, and told me to go get the invite from Mr. Jain’s house.  At the house no one had any idea of what I was talking about.  So I left with some sketchy instructions about where the event was, some 25 kilometres down the road and hoped for the best.  Actually finding the place was easy.  The road way had been all cleaned up for the PM visit and there were signs everywhere.  Security at the parking lot was intense, soldiers and security guards everywhere.  I parked my motorcycle and went up to one of the Cairn staff, who were all dressed in their blue coveralls.  One of them recognized me and got me an invite and helped me pass the security check.  I got onto a bus which took us another 4 kilometres to where a huge tent had been set up.  But first there was another security check and without a proper pass I was not able to go beyond that point.  Fortunately I spotted another Cairn blue boy and called  him over.  I got him to call Shankar who came right over and cleared me through and then took me to the next security check at the VIP entrance.  He got me through that as well and I went inside to a very nice, very large air conditioned tent with room enough for about 3 thousand people.  I sat down with some water and waited.   I was the only person who did not have a brightly coloured pass hanging around his/her neck.  And of course I was one of the few white people there too. Finally the PM came, speeches started and then were over.  The PM gave a short lack-lustre speech, turned a wheel valve to signify that the oil had begun to flow and one hour later the whole show was finished.  Well almost, there was lunch to come.  I went into the VIP lunch room where a short press conference was being held and then a most wonderful lunch buffet was available.  I have to tell you I went right for the non-veg section and filled my plate with meat.  I ate it all and then filled my plate with vegetables twice before having desert.  As I was walking out I notice a familiar shape on the table where the presentations were held.  There were two Toblerone bars out of their paper wrapper but in their tinfoil suits. A guy was cleaning up and I asked him for one which he gladly gave me.  It melted a bit on the way home but was the real thing!

So that was it.  I saw the PM, end of story.  Lunch was worth it.  Oh and I did speak briefly with the CEO of Cairn and he gave me his email address to continue our talk. However I put the paper in my shirt pocket and due to my sweating, the ink got wet and all blurrrred.

Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren't distracted by the total lack of content in your writing.”  - Randy K. Milholland