BENGALURU: Years ago, when I was dabbling with the basic concepts of driving in what was then Bombay (now Mumbai), my father had told me, “If you learn how to drive safely in Bombay, you can drive in any city in the world.” It was certainly not a compliment for Bombay. That was 1984 (nothing to do with George Orwell). Today, the scene has changed, with the ‘honours’ being taken over by Namma Bengaluru.
And we have a full-blown circus on the city roads – complete with ‘giraffes’, ‘elephants’, ‘bears’, ‘lions’ and ‘tigers’, ‘simians’ of all varieties… and, of course, how can you forget… the ‘clowns’ in control of all of them, and the ‘trapeze artistes’! It’s nothing less than a circus… a circus without a tent!
You just have to find a safe spot (that is a major challenge in itself, though) to spend a few minutes to observe the circus unfolding, that too for free (another freebie!!). You will be treated to all kinds of acrobatics – vertical (wheelies and pillions and riders standing on their pedals as they ride, among others) and horizontal (cars, bikes and vehicles of all shapes and sizes swerving left and right to beat the others and get ahead of the rest).
You may be stumped while wondering what those neatly-laid out lines on the roads are for. In normal traffic and motoring parlance, they are called lanes for the motorists to drive or ride within. They are for safety. But who cares? It appears that most motorists in Bengaluru assume those lines to have been drawn for aesthetic purposes, some kind of rangoli.
Lanes apart, traffic signals, junctions, intersections, one-ways, signage for instructions for motorists or footpaths (mostly non-existent), hold no meaning for the average Bengaluru motorist. They take the vehicles to anywhere that the wheels can take them. And the circus is growing.
Bengaluru has overtaken the national capital to host the largest number of private vehicles in any Indian city. As per data of December 31, 2023, there are 1,14,28,331 vehicles of all categories in Bengaluru for a human population of 1,40,08,262 – which is close to one vehicle per head. That’s a mind-boggling cram! And it is not close to slowing down. In just one decade, Bengaluru’s vehicle population has doubled from 55.26 lakh to 1.14 crore.
Normally, the vehicle population itself is not a problem if motorists know how to control their vehicles in a disciplined manner. But that do synonymous with speed and reaching a destination at the earliest. Safety of self and others comes last, if at all it figures on the mental radars of the motorists.
The shockingly rapid increase in vehicle population compounded by the lack of discipline on the roads is what has evolved the once-serene Bengaluru traffic (decades ago, that was) into what can be described as a ‘circus’ on the city roads – a deadly circus that claims lives every day.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that on long weekends, like the one which started with the Republic Day last week, Bengalureans almost crawled over each other like crabs to get away from the city, only to end up creating congestion elsewhere – they took the circus away from the citytemporarily.
While driving or riding these days, my father’s words often echo inside my head: “In life, always remember to be humble and modest, except while driving (or riding). While driving (or riding), always remember to remind yourself that you are the only wise and responsible motorist, and all the others are fools! Always anticipate other’s faults to avoid accidents!”
Now, that’s especially applicable to driving in Bengaluru to survive the city’s traffic day after day….
(The writer’s views are his own)