Treacherous Traffic

Concepts of personal space differ across cultures. What is an acceptable bubble of interpersonal space in one country or region may feel intrusively close or coldly distant in another. No doubt that the typical Indian can tolerate levels of physical proximity much closer than the typical American.

But here, there also seems to be a vehicular space difference. A car driving by within a foot or two of you in the U.S. elicits cuss words and other gestures of disapproval. Here, a car, motorcycle, rickshaw, or even bus can pass close enough to wipe the sweat off of your hand without anyone raising an eyebrow.

Traffic here is a mess of motorbikes, scooters, three wheeled auto-rickshaws, small cars, buses, big trucks, and pedestrians. It twists and turns through ill defined roadways with every sized vehicle weaving in and out and around each other. Lanes to go in opposite directions are defined broadly and there seems to be no such thing as lanes moving in the same direction; you just stake out a space and do everything you can to keep others out of it. Whereas in Boston, the pedestrian always has the right of way and many people step out into the street without ever having looked to see what was coming down the road; here, the biggest moving object seems to dominate. Even pedestrians walking on the side of the road must be careful not to get in the way of some approaching vehicle. A cacophony of horns blows throughout the city continuously in a vain effort to communicate and coordinate movement (and you guys thought Boston drivers used their horns a lot!). Overwhelming? Yes! But beautiful in its own way; like small blood cells, rushing to form a larger pulse. Movement keeps the city running--just make sure you don't get in the way.


Where does the road end and the sidewalk begin?


An auto-rickshaw: my primary mode of transport other than walking.



My hotel: the Crescent Park. It isn't the Marriott, but then they don't have to search through (and under) your car when you go into the gates either. I highly recommend it, although I think it is a bit pricey (the IFMR rate is 1,737 rupees a night which is approximately $40 - $45).


My work: Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR). I'm part of the Small Enterprise Finance Center (SEFC). We love acronyms around here.



My office. I sit in the cubicle near the end (for now). Not quite HBS (we are still working on getting our own ancient Roman mosaic and reflecting pool for the lobby:)

More pictures can be found here.