While driving home last night, several reasons went through my mind about why people who drive every day would hate driving in Bangalore. Currently, I have the luxury to navigate these roads barely, but I realized that the frustration that I face, during those few times, is something that many people face EVERY DAY. I’m unsure about other places in India, but driving in Bangalore can rather be unpleasant.

Formerly known as the Garden City of India, that turned into the IT hub of India, the Silicon Valley of India, the Electronic Capital of India, Science City, Space City, and more, Bangalore used to be a honeymoon spot for newlyweds who didn’t want to travel very far. Now, when people tell me that, it seems like another era. An era when greenery was given importance, an era when the city had numerous lakes, an era lost in the concrete jungle of corporate entities.

While Bangalore has ‘developed’ in the past 10 years, its infrastructure seems to be deteriorating. The old buildings look older, the city is filled with multiple constructions, the lush greenery is vanishing, and let’s not talk about the roads and the garbage strewn on many streets.

Despite having good weather, which is still not as bad as many other places around India, I feel that Bangalore has lost its charm, especially for those who have to be on the road every single day.

PS: I’m not talking about the ones who have lived here all their lives. Excuse me, guys and girls!

And driving in Bangalore? Well, that’s another nightmare that we are going to be talking about below!

WHY YOU NEED A CALM MIND WHILE DRIVING IN BANGALORE

While I was driving for half an hour, I thought of why someone would get frustrated doing this every single day or even regularly.

Scene 1 – You are ambitious. You want to own a luxury car. You want a smooth sedan. But, do the roads in Bangalore allow you to have your dream car? Nope. At every speed bump (if it’s an official one), you may be safe. If it’s an unofficial one, sometimes only God can help you through it, as you may have to maneuver and twist, so the car doesn’t touch the weirdly shaped speed bump.

What is an unofficial speed bump? An unscientific speed bump, often installed by random residents and shop owners without authorization. These are generally put there to slow down vehicles in residential areas or encourage vehicle owners to stop at their shops. They are improperly designed and unmarked, therefore can cause safety hazards and vehicle damage.

But stay calm: You need to understand that its the shop owner’s way of inviting people to try their dal chawal, idli dosa or specially-made chicken curry. So, if a few drivers fly off the unmarked speed bumps and land in the hospital or even the grave, you have to forgive them!

Scene 2 – Of course, we all love a good drive. But what is a drive that includes potholes? You are stressed. You are wondering if your car will fall into the pothole or glide over it. If the potholes are filled with rainwater, there’s another fear that creeps in. Will you be swallowed whole?

But stay calm: Karnataka Road Development Corporation will surely fill those potholes when they feel that the potholes have reached a dangerous depth. So, if your car falls in, it will mostly get out, even if scratched or damaged.

Scene 3 – Main highways are divided into lanes. Slow vehicles need to be on their extreme left, while the fast vehicles can be on the extreme right. But some people (or many actually) seem to be unaware of the white lines on the roads. You will find the slowest cars/trucks/buses on the fast lane and the fast cars overtaking from the slow lanes. Not sure who is to blame for these mind-boggling scenarios.

Many times, I find myself stuck behind three great trucks, owning each of the three lanes like kings. All at the same speed of 40 kms / hour.

Oh, another scene would be one big car/truck/bus driving blocking two lanes as they are driving ON THE LINE (in the middle of the lanes). Are they blind, or am I the only one who can see the white line under them?

But stay calm: Someday, people will realize that the white lines on the road mean something.

Scene 4 – Have you ever felt like getting out of your car and slapping a scooty rider? Well, I have plenty of times. Either they are unaware of their surroundings or don’t care about their lives. Because when they suddenly ride in front of me, especially at a turn, it’s they who can get hurt if I unintentionally hit them, not me.

I feel that the riders are brave to be on Bangalore roads, but I also feel that some of them wake up every morning, ready to go sit with The Almighty.

But I need to stay calm: Some people just don’t like their lives, maybe.

Scene 5 – Imagine driving every day through the slow, congested traffic and then comes a long weekend when, at some point, you find the flyovers almost empty. You want to zoom a little, perhaps at 100 kms / hour. There you will find the newly installed speed cameras to capture your unlawful act.

Even when going to the airport, you have to crawl at 60 kms / hour despite the empty but lonely roads at ungodly hours. I wonder if people who decide these speed limits actually drive at those speeds while on those roads.

But stay calm: Those speed limits are for our ‘safety’, not for the government to make money.

Scene 6 – Road work? Well, besides having to navigate, with your human eyes, people crossing, dogs, cats, cows, cyclists and two wheelers coming the wrong way, parked cars, and children running around on some roads, you have to make sure you can spot road work at a distance, too. And, when men are at work, there is mostly no proper road to get around that lane. You have to wait patiently for each car to cross over to the other side. One by one!

There are times on the highway when, if you are behind a car, you suddenly find it swerving to the left, only for you to suddenly encounter barricades on the fast lane.

In the past, safety cones were placed in a tapered, diagonal line to slowly shift fast-moving traffic at least 100 feet before the work zone. Now, you find those safety cones suddenly appearing out of nowhere, barely 5 or 10 feet from the work zone.

But stay calm: Maybe KRDCL has a shortage of safety cones nowadays. They will surely train the workers about their safety, as well as the safety of the traffic around them. When? Hopefully, before someone goes up!

Scene 7 – A highway is generally a no-walk zone, but here in Bangalore, people find ways to cross over to the other side despite there being fences on the road median.

But stay calm: Don’t you know there are no proper pedestrian bridges built for people on foot? So, the people who drive have to make sure they don’t hit the people on foot. Only when someone is hit (God bless them) will a pedestrian bridge be erected. Got it?

Scene 8 – Driving at night? Well, watch out for those huge trucks that barely move on the fast lanes without their rear or brake lights working. Perhaps they feel that we should have extra good vision to spot their grey vehicles in the dark.

But stay calm: The traffic police don’t spot them either. So, they have nothing to worry about.

Besides having to watch out for confusing speed limits on the same road, there are also the interstate buses that park themselves in random places and disrupt traffic. Have you come across those? The road system is much appreciated, yet driving in Bangalore can be frustrating at times because of all these factors. But we think that if you have a calm mind and think wisely, well, you have nothing to worry about. Right? Just make sure you don’t bang anyone or anything on the roads and always say your prayers before leaving the house. You should be fine! All the best!

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ 
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla 
in collaboration with Sameeksha Reads.

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