A Singaporean Discovers India Part 1.
The day after I landed in New Delhi, I picked up a copy of India Today at the Delhi Railway Station.
An editorial caught my eye. Or rather it was the accompanying drawing of a student in a bottle.
The editorial was a comment on a horrific accident involving a school bus which resulted in 26 dead children.
It began, in measured tones to state the obvious, that human life is cheap in India. The next few lines caught my attention.
" Yet, if there is anything as clear as the fact that the tragedy could have been avoided, it is that it will be repeated. It is almost as if Indians have sworn themselves to unbridled irresponsibility- behind the wheel or anywhere……….To give birth to 16 million babies every year without bothering to ensure adequate medicare, schooling or even nutrition for them requires fecklessness of an extraordinary degree…It is no wonder that the age of innocence passes many Indian children by…….There is certainly little joy in being the Indian of tomorrow- if the country's unsafe roads allow you to get there in the first place."
It was a brilliant piece of creative writing and would set the tone for the rest of my journey.
The unbridled irresponsibility behind the wheel was the first thing I noticed. Indians have the ability to squeeze the maximum out of the minimum. The buses are always overloaded, with people clinging to the doors and windows and sitting on the roof. (This was especially evident in Amritsar.) So are the autorickshas, which squeeze eight people in a vehicle meant for three. There is no end to the squeezing. Never mind if the tyres wear out faster or the engine is overworked…...that little profit today has to be squeezed out.
The driving is just as reckless. Autos wheel in and out, cars weave in and out and there is actually very little order on the roads.
But in the towns, nobody really dies.The reason is simple. The traffic moves too slowly for a fatal impact.