O Mighty Himalayas!

Musings of My Two Wheeler Experience

      Riding a two wheeler has become a child's play in our country, that many adults lose the game badly! I did not begin this endeavor as a teen like many others. But when I did start, I realized that you need not be like an Ambi of Anniyan to master it! This is because on busy urban roads every minute is a guaranteed drama.                 

 

       Imagine or rather recollect this setting where you are stuck between two cars, moving an inch left or an inch right to increase your breathing space would either render a honk from your back or a stare from the front. But let me not blame my four wheeler friends for they are the most over protective species on the roads (of course I mean the sane ones). The biggest threats are sometimes from the ones with bigger tyres or ones that have overhead tank. Everyday news papers carry stories of people getting run over by these death messengers. So merely spotting them anywhere on the roads, the first thing that strikes me is to "MOVE AWAY ASAP!!".

      The heroes of the roads are definitely cyclists who dominated roads few decades back. Braving all odds and balancing their lives in between, they create space for themselves on these lively roads. Sometimes they even put motorists like me to shame with their spirit of driving. Next coming to the three wheeler group who become our saviors when our horses are injured are a unique kind. When using their services, I felt comfortable and indeed thought they were moving fast. But while sharing driving space with them I found that they are the slowest species on roads trying to zip, zap and zoop the smallest gaps they see. So the thumb rule is don't trail them unless it is necessary! 

 

      Roads are host to a patient group as well who puts up with everyone's antics. They are people who walk using two legs unlike motorists. They don't get to cross roads freely or walk peacefully on pavements. But they are considered to be the privileged ones on the road - they can cross roads anywhere, they can walk on any side because traffic rules are only for motorists (just that they don't follow them!). But riding on roads has in fact made me a better pedestrian. The plight of stray animals might be pathetic yet these twenty first century animals have become astute and adaptive to these conditions. They have got used to flashing lights, racing vehicles and sometimes adhere to traffic signals. They know when to cross roads and how fast they should run amidst the chaos to reach their destination- A classic example of evolution indeed!

      Then there is a breed known to fill gaps on roads- the two wheeler breed. Without this group the total fine collected by the traffic police would be reduced to more than half. They are conferred with capabilities that others don't have -like squeezing in to the tiniest gaps, carrying an entire family as pillion, effortlessly spreading their feet while trotting and a singular skill of riding over pavements. These stunts if put to good use would rather fetch some medals in biking competitions. 

 

      Though every type of rider has his/her own quirks, each one can become a casualty any time. Everyone wants to pull ahead of someone on roads-from the slowest to the fastest and from the smallest to the biggest. Sadly our Indian roads are not big enough to house more than two vehicles at a time! Most vehicles might be generous in using horns (for honking shows their power) but not with their use of indicators. How many times have we followed a vehicle only to have realized that they wanted to take a turn and not go straight! May a book on "How to drive on Indian roads" guide us, but aren't traffic rules supposed to do that!! It is so surreal that we have made this as our way life that even people from other parts of the country find it alien.                                           

 

      Everyday more vehicles get added on to roads and so are accidents. By taking extra care like following basic traffic rules we can stay away from many collisions. I hope to see a day where everybody on roads follows traffic rules so meticulously that we never hear ambulance sirens carrying accident victims!!

 Image source: Google Images