October 28, 2009:
A scooter ride in Delhi- what an experience! It's as exhilarating as a roller coaster ride except that you’re on your way to work. Scooters are three-wheeled motorized vehicles also called autos (short for autorickshaws). They are convenient to use as they can be easily maneuvered through the heavy traffic and small spaces characteristic of streets in urban India. There’s a driver’s seat in front and a slightly larger seat for two passengers at the back. The sides are completely open but the top is covered with a thick plastic canopy. Some drivers know their way around and others pretend that they do. Only a fraction will honestly admit that they don’t know where you want to go and ask you to guide them. So sometimes you get to your destination directly and sometimes you go around in circles within the city limits before you finally reach where you’re supposed to be. And all this time you’re sitting in an atmosphere of dust, smoke and oil fumes, sunglasses covering eyes and a scarf covering hair, being bumped and jostled, shaken and stirred in this motorized vehicle that has no shock absorbers whatsoever. Every time the scooter runs over a pothole it is thrown into the air and you’re flung around within the interior, up and down, left to right, holding on to your laptop and bag with one hand lest they get thrown out of the vehicle from the open side, and holding onto a metal bar with your other hand lest you get thrown out onto the street and under incoming traffic. I actually know someone who did fall out and broke her leg. She's fine now. I guess all of this sounds like a slapstick comedy, or more like a driving nightmare, but I love it – it’s exciting, exhilarating, and so Indian. I grew up on this and riding autos is second nature to me. One has to develop the physical and mental skills, balance and coordination, and sheer guts to negotiate these amazing rides in real time traffic which follows no rules and that no amusement park can match.