Driving Miss Molhiti

Mike here.

Driving in India is an experience like no other in the world. Naples, Paris, and even Mexico City offer nothing that can prepare you for this amazing chaotic ballet of busses, tuk-tuks, pedestrians and cows. In theory, traffic flows on the left, as in Britain. As applied to this country, it is a theory that remains to be fully tested. Even on divided roadways, it is not uncommon to see cars, trucks, and even ox-drawn carts coming towards you on your side of the divider. This is true both in the city, and in the countryside.

Life in the country seems to gravitate towards the main roads. Small businesses, usually housed in makeshift huts and lean-two’s, crowd up next to the road and sometimes onto the roadway itself. These enterprises offer a variety of products and services, but mostly prepared food and drink, fruit, automotive repairs, and for some reason that I cannot yet determine, underwear. These impromptu “villages” then generate their own traffic from the local area. With the storefronts right on the road, shoppers are then forced onto the roadway where they must contend with the constant flow of traffic. In the three weeks that we have been here, I have yet to see an accident of any kind, but many close calls. It would not be inaccurate to say that traffic here is an interlocking series of near-misses. I am convinced that the Indians are the best drivers in the world… or at least, the luckiest. They are certainly among the most patient. As one West Bengali driver put it, “…we do not have many traffic laws. We drive by God”.

We have seen many things here that are beyond our usual life experience. It is difficult to categorize these impressions in order to put them into a cohesive narrative, but they occur with such regularity that if they are not communicated somehow, they are bound to become lost in memory. One I feel that I must pass on is a sign that I saw hanging outside a complex of buildings. It read: “Government College of Music and Hospital for Pet Animals”.

Tomorrow we are off to The Temple Bay Hotel in Mamallapuram. I had a chance to check this place out yesterday on our way to Pondichéry. I am happy to report that we have Beach! The next challenge will be to teach the hotel staff how to make a good Mai Tai.