I have had the occasion to spend some time in Hyderabad in the past year; I was summoned to pay respects to the last of my grandparents who decided she had exhausted all avenues of happiness on this Papa-Loka.
I had to move around the city a lot which necessitated much more than the humble walk, which too could be fairly exciting in a modern city like Hyderabad. I had to drive a two wheeler a car, rent cabs, the whole thing.
Going to places is the best way to explore a city. So initially I spent a lot of time walking around and getting the lay of the land, before realising the need for modes of transport a bit more rapid. Hyderabad has a Metro railway system which at the moment is able serve the most deserving localities; where I was put up was not on the list. If there was one, I did not notice any reliable bus transport.
These are the circumstances under which I was introduced to the protagonist of this piece. We will use the pronoun they/them to reflect the equality warranted. We shall call the protagonist ‘Hyderabad driver’.
The Hyderabad driver is in a hurry and one would not blame them for it. For a metropolis of such importance to the Indian economy boasting the 9th largest GDP of Indian metropolises the Hyderabad driver can ill afford wasting time on the road. It is not a mean feat to achieve such lofty goals and as such commands the cooperation and sacrifices of the entire society. I shall enumerate a few examples to throw some much needed light on the said cooperation extended.
1. Driving on the wrong side of the road. One can very easily observe that the Hyderabad driver often tends to drive on the wrong side of the road. Now why would a responsible driver do this if not to attend to some urgent business. They don’t think twice if the task at hand demands such quick decision making. Sometimes they have to do this with babies and toddlers sitting on the petrol tank of their Motorcycle or in the driver seat of the car. That reminds me, putting on the seatbelt can be a waste of time to so naturally many a Hyderabad driver may not put their’s on.
2. Making others aware of their presense. The Hyderabad driver will make generous use of the horn provided in their vehicle to inform others on the road of their presence and their intent to imminently overtake every other vehicle, human being or any other obstacle on the road which may come in the way urgent disposal of any mission they might be on. This can also be observed when one needs to turn corners, or when driving on the wrong side of the road or when simply greeting other drivers. This horn is usually loud so that the message is never lost in the cacophony of the metropolis.
3. Need for speed. The Hyderabad driver while normally very careful and observing of all relevant traffic rules might drive very fast in pursuit of their mission. This could be in school zones, near police stations, residential areas. Motorcycles are by default allowed to pass in any space available where that slim form can fit.
4. An interpretation of lane driving. The Hyderabad driver understands that well the purpose of lanes and is usually very observant of the relevant rules. However, they are also aware of the possible interpretations of such geometric suggestions presented on the road. On careful observation one can find that more than one lane can indeed exist where only one is drawn if a need does indeed arise. One can’t make assume one has does his or her duty by merely indicating. Who actually drives in a particular spot depends entirely on the size of the vehicle, how urgent the business of the driver is and other relevant matters generally approved by the society.
5. Red lights (Traffic signals). Now, stopping at Red lights is a matter of pragmatism. While a Yellow light or even a Red light is a suggest one might stop so as to let the other traffic pass, these rather modern stipulation is to be taken in conjunction with pragmatic evaluation of the mission at hand. Of course it can’t be helped if one’s mission is of such importance that even a Red light might have to be ignored.
As I have mentioned before, achieving such productivity takes the effort of every Hyderabad driver. It is a relentless pursuit. For that the entire society has to support and offer understanding. I have seen even the police cooperating in this matter. I have observed the above mentioned facts near Rachakonda Police Commissioner’s office, Neredmet Police Station. In fact when a Good Tempo crashed into my car near the Begumpet Police Station, the concerned police officer educated me that the mistake was mine; I was not able to appreciate the urgency of the mission of the Tempo’s driver. Merely because I had indicated lane change and was generally aware of the surroundings was not enough. It was a day of great education for me. I wanted to register a complain with the Begumpet Police Station but it took me 6 hours as it was a Friday and the Hyderabad Police had to be present at mosques to prevent communal tensions and they also had to provide for the Chief minister’s movements. In fact the Begumpet SHO had not slept in 24 hours.
Had I not been given this instruction on that fateful day, I would still be ignorant and continue believing that merely following road rules ensured road safety. There are always larger goals and it takes keen observation and a humble disposition to learn new perspectives. Had it not been for this instruction I would still be pointing out trivial matters like helmets, possible use of brakes to let each other pass or safety of the pedestrians. In fact I would go as far as professing to automobile manufacturers to modify and enhance their vehicles in such a manner to enable Hyderabad become the metropolis with the highest GDP in India. Some concrete suggestions could be; providing very strong steel bumpers around vehicles to minimise damage in case of unavoidable accidents, providing much louder horns (fog horns maybe?) to make it more effective. To cover the cots of these fittings the manufacturers could remove brakes and indicators as they are sparingly used and are vestigial akin to the human appendix.