The Orgasm Lane!

Call it the overtaking lane, the speeding lane, or simply the right lane, for really there is no specific name for it in India. And it’s amusing how the Indian guys just vie and vow to stick to it. But ‘why’ - an obvious question! Ah well, it sure must be the orgasm lane. Ahem. No points for guessing. So guys, c'mon, contend and contest, pull to the right, and sense the sensational orgasm.

However, I must confess that even I am guilty of this perpetual tendency to keep to the right, besides being an inadvertent spectator. Orgasm or no-orgasm, I subconsciously pull to the right to experience the euphoria. Jokes apart, I tried to discover and pen down my raison d'être for feeling safer in the right-est lane, an out of the 'so-Western' world feeling.

1) Lack of infrastructure for pedestrians, or the poor Walkability Index (read post ‘Treading the tough path’; label: Trends), prompts them to use the left lane for walking. And mind you, they seldom mind the honk.

2) Even on a six-lane highway, the left-most lanes on either side are usually the make-shift parking slots.

3) The probability of you knocking down a cyclist, appearing out of nowhere in the dark, is much lesser in the right lane.

4) Any keen observer would testify that the roads usually starts dilapidating from the left, am yet to discover the logic though!

Indeed, methinks, driving to the right is my biggest service to mankind. It helps me save the lives of hundreds of those fearless soldiers who couldn’t care less for their lives.

A toast to their lives, and my ‘right’ (pun intended) drive!

- Namrta Batra

Dare to dream

"Dreams are not those you get while sleeping.


Dreams are those that don't let you sleep."


Well said Akhil.

I salute this guy for his determination, fervor, passion, and dream.

With China at 27, US only at 16, and India still at 1 :( I hope you get us another Gold! Kudos to China, for an amazing show, inspite of its one-time participation in 1930s and consistent participation only since 1984.

Dream a dream with open eyes, and guarantee it would come true.

- A dreamer :)

A Responsible Citizen

It was scary, well past midnight. The street lamps stood tall and proud, but unlit. The roads were pitch black, rather 'tar' black. The only source of light was the headlights, mostly trucks, a few other cars and mine. Bangy is a safe city, safer rather, comparatively. I usually drive slow, but the darkness put me at unease, and anxious to get home. So, as I was ripping thru', slowing only at occasional speed breakers.

Barely a km from home, I saw the trucks, that I was following, change their lanes. I followed. Curious to know why, I rolled my window down, and to my utter dismay saw a man lying flat on his stomach - upper torso on the divider and lower blocking the road. I pulled up on the side, not certain if I should help. There were so many factors against me, the unearthly hour, the alien (local) language, the gender - a lady driver, seldom considered adept at driving, the conked off mobile phone. Besides, I wasn't aware if there was any hospital around, if any FIR was required for treatment, if I would need to wait for the cops, so-on and so-forth. In the meantime, I noticed how the other cars, even two-wheelers had sped past, slowing down their vehicles to notice, yet not noticing the noticeable. So, in the midst of dilemma, I decided not to be a responsible and heroic citizen, and pulled-up!

My heavy heart grew heavier as I drove back home, and I decided to take a safer route and inform the cops at '100' about the incident. Having done that in a bad mix of Kannada & English, the next thing I recall is a series of phone calls back from the cops asking me where did "I hit" the victim, how did "I hit" the victim, ordering me to wait where "I hit" the victim. And there I was trying to explain the cops that I didnt hit, I didnt run away, instead I called up to inform in time to save his life. But the more I tried to explain, the more foolish & helpless I felt!! I wished I had not tried being 'a responsible citizen', and left it to someone else, preferably a local guy, to report the incident, rather than be traumatized by this north-south divide.

And today, as we celebrate the 61st Independence Day, I cant help recall this incident and retrospect if we truly are independent. Are we liberated yet from the social shackles of regional discrimination, petty caste and religion concerns, status and class considerations?

- Namrta Batra

Treading the tough path!

The Union Ministry of Urban Development (UMUD), in a bid to create a job for themselves - as I percieve it, recently calculated the Walkability Index of 30 major cities in the country. The Walkability Index is calculated as (W1*availability) + (W2*facility rating) where W1 & W2 are parametric weights, assumed as 50% for both. And this is how some of them fare:

A more pertinent question: Can we follow-up on these findings with an action item? (Pls note the usage of the word 'action' - c'mon folks we are waiting!). Planned cities like Chandigarh (tops the Walkability Index) provide for public amenities/services eg. footpaths, etc as a vital part of the urban planning process. But congested towns like Bangalore, where the broad lanes have turned into alleys, show no scope, and absolutely no hope, of improvement the pedestrian infrastrucutre.

Wondering if the tax payers' moolah goes into just making reports, or even implementing reforms for the benefit of public!

>> Read the complete article

- Namrta Batra