IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY AD, THERE
lived a man in what is now India, called Aryabhatta. A brilliant mathematician and scientist, he was a genius who gave the world the concept of ‘shunya’ (zero). By his own definition, ‘zero’ isn’t nothing. Rather it is the absence of everything. In essence, it’s the numeral equivalent of vacuum. As you would have guessed by now, it’s an extremely complicated concept. While Aryabhatta was over a millennium ago, there have been several Indian geniuses – Tagore, C V Raman, Sir J C Bose, Amartya Sen (to name but a few) – since, from different fields. Indeed, it’s a legacy to be proud of, and I am. Yet, from time to time, I can’t help give in to the shame of belonging to a nation where the vast majority of riders and drivers are best described as morons.
Now I don’t expect every member of the nation to be a genius cut from the same cloth as some of the names I have mentioned above, but do you really have to be a Nobel laureate or an awardwinning physicist to understand that if there are two lines on your side of the road, then you need to stay between the lines and not on one of them? The other day I was headed to the local grocery store. Now the road I take to the store is a nice, wide four-lane piece of work with clearly demarcated lanes on both sides. In an ideal situation (which is to say any country where the rider/driver population can be described as civilised), the left lane, which is the slow lane in our country, would be occupied with the fast lane (on the right) left free for overtaking. In our less than ideal road condition, where several riders/drivers stick to the right (fast) lane at low speeds, we rely on our innate sense of ‘jugaad’ and quickly overtake them from the left (slow) lane. I know it’s a far from perfect scenario but at least you can go about your business without being obstructed for too long. That day I found myself growing more and more frustrated and irritated following a seemingly educated man driving slowly ahead of me straddling both the lanes! As a result, I could neither go left nor could I overtake from the right. Friends, please. If there are two lanes on your side of the road and if you’re in no hurry, stay on the left, which is the slow lane and is meant for blokes like you. Someone else could be in a hurry and might need the fast lane free. If for nothing, do it for good karma’s sake. For all you know, the next time that someone in a hurry could be you.
What is worse is when two lads decide to ride alongside each other and at exactly the same speed! If you’re going to travel at the same velocities, then why can’t you be behind one another? C’mon, mates. It can’t be difficult. There isn’t even trickery involved. If you’re the lad in the slow lane, just wind the throttle a wee bit more, pull ahead by a few metres so that the other chap gets the hint and moves into the space you just created. If you’re the man in the fast lane, grow a brain and either get ahead of the guy next to you or get behind him.
Last but not the least, if there is a centre line running through the middle of the road, it DOESN’T divide the roads into lanes. It divides the road into halves, one for going and the other for coming. Stay on your side of the centre line (in India that would be left). Technically speaking, you’re allowed to pull into the wrong side and overtake only if the centre line is of a dotted variety. In the interest of practicality I won’t spew wrath on those who go on to the wrong side and overtake. But at least get back on to your side after you’ve done so. Why continue to stay on the wrong side of the road and risk your limbs, or worse?
It all boils down to attitude in the end. Here in India, unfortunately, we grow up with a sense of entitlement, even though it may be all wrong. For instance, the oft-repeated argument by anyone running a red is, “(everybody does it). Wake up, folks. Just because others do it doesn’t make it right. You are only entitled to the little piece of tarmac your vehicle is on. Period. Everything else around you is public property. So the next time you’re on the road, please be considerate. Happy riding.