Sinagara Chennai’s not so singara roads and traffic..

June 2005 marked d turning point in my life.. d beginning of an era perhaps.. I wuz getting into college.. wich implied license to drive.. FINALLY..!

I waited fer tis day my whole life.. I pictured myself drivin on one of em race bikes.. id zip by wid d world watchin in awe.. jus like in d movies..

But my folks had odder plans.. they did not approve of their youngest child drivin arnd in a bike.. a maruti 800 wud b jus fine they said.. but I didn’t give in.. I wanted a bike.. and dat wuz dat..

So d following month I got a brand new purple TVS Scooty Pep.. well.. not exactly wot I had in mind.. but @ least it sumwot resembled d bike in my head’s lil cousin.. :/

And as all beginners I had a few minor knocks now and den.. My wake up call came wen I had a major accident.. a bus knockin me down frm behind.. d bike and I flew in d air (matrix eesshhtyle) and I scrapped on d road fer a while.. broken bones, a bloody face and sum skin bein ripped apart..

Folks were hell bent on getting me d car now.. but I got bak on my bike in 7 days.. and I got a piercing done as well to prove to d world.. “I aint a sissy.. if life throws me limes I make lime juice”

Now I think im a seasoned rider.. its been a year now since Ive been drivin on d roads of chennai.. and I wud like to categorise d traffic as follows:

D honkers – As the name suggests these folks honk their horns fer no rhyme or reason.. im thinking mebbe they want attention.. like a spoilt brat who craves fer attention frm his/her parents all d time..

D starers - These folks jus look u up and down.. they hv a bewildered look in their eyes.. they look @ u wid a look dat says.. “hmm.. thr are odder human beings I co-exist wid on dis blue blob planet”

D strays – These folks are very much like stray dogs.. no clue bout wots goin on arnd them.. they act on impulse.. they may jump in fronta yer vehicle @ any time.. and if u hit them by accident.. gawd bless u’re soul.. my sympathies are wid u..

D buses and the auto rickshaws - I don’t hv a nick name fer buses and autos cuz they are a league apart.. they think they own d roads and hence stop whereva and weneva they want to.. they mite go slow or go fast.. (they prolly hv mood swings often) and of corse a special mention fer d auto drivers.. money suckin hounds.. so tackle wid caution..

D gap seekers – I belong to dis category.. :D we folks spot d gaps in a traffic jam.. sqeeuze in and drive away unhurt (touch wood) therefore we save a lotta time and fuel..

D road huggers – these folks drive rather crawl like snails right in d middle of d road.. u mite b late fer college, late to meet a frnd, late fer a movie perhaps.. but u cant do a darn thing abt it.. u either crawl behind em or honk fer approximately 10 mins after wich road hugger mite move a lil to give u way..