Impressions of India

I’ve been back in New Zealand for three weeks now. These are just some general impressions of India.

There are traffic laws, but nobody seems to pay them much mind. The rules of the road are don’t stop, don’t hit anything, and use your horn liberally to let everyone else know you are there. There is also a general guideline to drive on the left (unless it is more convenient to drive on the right at the time). It seems like this would lead to chaos, and it does. But somehow, it is chaos that works. Everyone gets where they need to go, people don’t have many accidents (and those they do are minor scrapes, not major wrecks) and nobody gets road rage. If someone or something is blocking the road, everything just sort of flows around it.

There are people and bikes and cars everywhere. Simple things like walking along the roadside are not always simple. You have to actually walk on the road, along with all the other people, scooters, cars, trucks, buses and bullock carts. Not only will they not hit you, but nobody is bothered. If you walk beside the road, you are not only walking in the dirt and dust but you have to avoid litter, piles of dumped rubbish and the excrement of the cows and dogs that are scavenging amongst it. And all of this can exist right next to the most beautifully-decorated intricate temple, or next to a gorgeous white sand beach, or next to a breath-taking mountain view.

Crossing streets is even more challenging because the traffic just comes en masse. If you waited for both sides of the the road to be empty, you would never go anywhere. If you even waited for a break in one direction of traffic, you would never move. You just step into whatever gaps you can find, and if necessary, you hold your hand out to ask the oncoming traffic to let you go. And mostly, it does. Everything just adjusts around you to accommodate.

There’s a lot of that sort of accommodation in a country as populous and diverse as India. People can do pretty much anything and nobody pays it much mind. Want to drive down the road carting a door longways across your scooter? No problem. Want to sit cross legged 1m out on the road on the inside of a blind curve at 9pm? No problem. Want to carry your baby in your arms while riding side-saddle on the back of a scooter? With your other toddler between you and the driver and the third child standing in front of the driver? With not a helmet in sight? No problem. Want to prostrate yourself in the middle of the road outside an event at 3am? No problem. Want to take your freshly-poured cocktail from one club to another that’s 10 minute drive away? No problem. This is India, they tell me, it’s a free country, you can do anything you want.

As well as being incredibly tolerant of all kinds of different behaviour, everywhere we went, everyone was unfailingly friendly and helpful. We had no problems getting directions or restaurant recommendations. When we had car problems, lots of people stopped and asked what the problem was, and many people at different times helped push the car to a different location or helped shine light on the engine while Gopal diagnosed the problem. Gopal’s brother-in-law’s cousin gave up many hours and travelled many kilometres helping to procure parts for the car to get us back on the road again. We had no problem flagging down a lift into town, and the driver insisted on taking us to decent accommodation in the city centre, and accompanying us inside to make sure we were looked after.

Although my previous posts show a lot more of the food and the scenery, I don’t think you can really know what India is like until you actually experience it yourself. Just go there!