Our First Day in India
Our first full day in India was far too long and eventful to have taken place in just twenty-four hours. By the end of the day, the morning’s events seemed as if they had taken place the day before. After eating breakfast, we hopped in the vans that were completely at our disposal. All of the drivers were very nice and eager to talk. Our driver pointed towards several buildings and informed us as to what they were, the president’s building, the building of the prime minister, embassies, and to our left, one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. The grass was perfectly green and well cut, with just enough trees to provide shade almost everywhere. There was even a large man-made pond, rectangular, which ran through the center of the park. People were everywhere, some under the shade of the trees, others by the banks of the pond. It was a perfect place for a picnic, a walk, to relax, or go for a swim. I blinked. These people weren’t here for a picnic or a walk, they were just here, they lived here. Those people had slept beneath the trees and were bathing in the water. The stark contrast between the exquisite beauty of the park and the poverty of the people living there, was a shocking.
I no longer have any respect for movie car chases. There are millions of drivers in India, and every one of them is more badass at driving than James Bond, or Indiana Jones, or any of those guys in The Fast and the Furious. There are no rules on the streets of India. There is some vague consensus that people are suppose to stay towards the left hand side of the road, but that’s it. Anything goes. The streets are shared between cars, rickshaws, pedestrians, cows, and just about everything else. All of these things move together in one big convoluted mess. Our drivers are incredibly skilled. I have never seen anyone speed between such small spaces. We swerve between cars consistently leaving literally two inches on either side, and yet I still haven’t seen any accidents. Cars have to fight for space constantly. Some drivers just exude an aura of dangerousness that help them vie for space. One of our drivers managed to force an eighteen-wheeler back over while it was shifting lanes when he could have easily moved aside. One driver coming back from the airport even made a right turn from the far left lane, cutting through three lanes of traffic, and no one around reacted in a way that showed that this was out of the ordinary. Coming to Mussoorie we had to travel through many miles of windy mountain roads. These roads don’t have anything to stop you from going over the edge of the cliff, and yet these drivers fly around the corners without breaking a sweat. Even James Bond isn’t that good.
posted by Kirk | 8:36 PM
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