A few days ago i wrote about how Bombay should get rid of pavements.Well as much as that was in jest, there is a lot of irony to what I said that day.
Over the past three weeks since I have been here, I have noticed something that was not there before. There is a complete “care a fuck for the law” attitude on the part of motorcyclists and drivers.
People jump signals like its the only thing to do. I can understand that there is a certain amount of frustration that comes about driving and riding in Bombay. But then that is the case anywhere. Driving in Manhattan is equally frustrating, but no one breaks signals and drives with gay abandon as they do here in Bombay. Every single day I land up fighting with some asshole cab driver or a screwed up pompous ass driver riding an expensive car. And motorcyclists….dont even get me started.
A big problem as i perceive it is the lack of a monitoring force. But then just putting more policemen on the road should not be the solution. We are a civilized society, governed by rules and regulations which we are expected to obey.
People use the roads in the city as if its their birth right. Driving and riding are NOT fundamental rights. They are privilages granted by the government of a country. Therefore to drive like the way people do is not only being irresponsible, but rank stupid and dangerous.
Why is it necessary to have police to keep a check ?? Why cant we self control ourselves. Everyone breaking signals creates more and more chaos. A lot of the reasons for the crazy traffic jams is because people speed out of their lights even when they turn red. Its like amber has no meaning. Many a times this last minute drive thru is a blind dash which endangers other motorists.
As much as I may sound like a broken record, cabbies are the worst offendors on the roads. Most come from northern India and have no formal training in driving anything let alone a cab. So armed with non-existant skills and a complete lack of urban sense, they let themselves loose on the city and wreak havoc. The cabs they drive are ancient, way past their shelf life times ten. And on top of that, have you noticed the excess number of empty cabs that just keep on driving around the city waiting to pick up passengers ?? Has anyone ever given a thought as to how many cabs does the city need. What about all the wasted fuel as they troll the roads.
The complete breakdown of traffic law and order (so to say) is alarming. On a more immediate footing, I would urge the government to increase the size of the traffic police corps three times. To fund their salaries and other costs, increase fines to a minimum of 1000 Rs per offence with a one shot policy. Second offence and your car is impounded. Third offence and your license suspended. NYC doubled its fines a few years ago and it made wonders. Only by doing this will a certain sense of forced discipline be developed and maybe in a generation or so there will be a change in attitude.
Its not only about riding your car or bike. Its about doing it safely, for yourself and other users of the same stretch of asphalt.
It would’nt be wrong to say that the Theatre scene in India is completely different to one witness’s abroad. In other countries, theatre has proper rehearsals from 10 am to 6 pm, which just does not happen in our country. Here, nobody can afford to do only theatre. For most people involved, it’s more of a hobby to which they try to devote their evenings to. A theatre artiste here cannot afford to give the kind of time because the medium does not pay. However the money factor has yet not managed to dampen the high sprits, passion and creativity involved in this art. 
