Benedictus: Traffic Adventures in India

Crazy traffic! No real lanes. A line down the middle of the road doesn't mean drivers stay where they're supposed to be. From our seat in the jeep, the cars appear to hurtle towards us. We dodge ancient bicycles and motorcycles and tuk-tuks, the three wheeled small vehicles with open sides. No rhyme or reason governs this road. It's every man for himself. Our driver expertly weaves through the maze of other vehicles, motorcycles, bikes, people, and even cows. We're driving on the "wrong" side of the road as well, British style. I wish I could post the video we took. Pictures don't do justice to the traffic situation at all. On the backs of trucks these instructions are crudely painted, "Please use horn." Horns are used liberally to indicate rapid lane changes and just to say, "Get out of my way!" Especially when another vehicle is coming right at you.
"Use dipper at night." That one puzzled me, but I think they mean low beam lights instead of high beam.

Yellow and green tuk-tuks

In a town of at least 100,000, traffic lights might have been there, but I didn't see any. It's a weird feeling going around a traffic circle in the opposite direction. In a bigger town, a policeman stands right there on the inner edge of the circle to direct traffic with one wave of the hand.
Helmets are not generally used by motorcyclists, and certainly not by cyclists. Ladies in flowing saris perch sidesaddle behind the driver.

Sometimes several people pile onto a motorcycle, even babies and toddlers are transported this way.
An interesting sign read: Slow and steady saves the face. Is that to be taken literally?
Another interesting sign by a bank in a wooded area: Urinating prohibited, toilet ahead. Some paid no attention.
Sound is not the only assault on the senses. Brightly coloured saris on women stand out everywhere. Children walk on the road dressed in school uniforms. One school bus stopped at an intersection beside a guard rail, and children jumped out of the bus, onto the rail, and disappeared down the bank onto a small trail between the weeds. No flashing red lights there!
Dust and smoke is everywhere. This is how the Taj Mahal appeared from across the river in Agra.

One day in Delhi, the air was so filled with smog that flights were cancelled. They said it was like smoking 50 cigarettes. Fortunately it was not as bad the few hours we were there, but certainly enough to be noticed.

Papers, plastic, trash, and cows, goats, and pigs.
When enough garbage accumulates, it is burned on the spot, adding to the air pollution.