Traffic in Chennai

“Traffic” this is probably the second scariest thing right next to “Terrorism”.

While governments are busy planning strategic initiatives to counter terrorism, ‘everyday guys’ like me plan how to counter Traffic.

Here are few counter ideas that could work

1. Drive a bike instead of a car
2. Take the office cab
3. Carpool
4. Relocate
5. Call in sick
6. Work from home

While the list can be endless with options varying from whacky to intelligent, the question I really want to ask is – Does any of them work for you?

My professor in college used to say at the end of the day its you against the whole world and I did not realize what that meant but now I kind of feel what he was talking about, the man had to travel 2 hours everyday to get to work and trust me guys that is no easy job when you experience the traffic in Chennai.

For most people who don’t know about Chennai, it a beautiful city in the state of Tamil Nadu situated in the southern part of India, If you still feel this place is Timbuktu - I would suggest you to Google it. It’s like any other busy city in the world where people have two things to live for 1. Work / earn money and spend it before the weekend, 2. Mega serials (that’s day time soap)

Now I’m not exactly a spokesperson for Chennai, it’s simple to big of a place to describe in a simple blog but as a everyday guy who travels to work almost 45 mins, I do have some interesting words to share. Driving in Chennai for most people would be the worst part of their day but I don’t want to talk about the pain involved in it rather I want to talk about the fun side of it and that’s what this blog is all about – Finding FUN in everyday’s misery.

Ask any foreigner who visited Chennai for the first time, they would have a wonderful story about the traffic out here, some of the things you hear will not be accepted by your brain but you got to see it to believe it. In fact there is rumor that government is trying to advertise “driving in Chennai” as an extreme sport activity and attract international investment. They have already started digging holes in the road, raising big pillars and constructing bridges.

The good thing is that unlike motocross where only one can drive, you can do this a group activity, you can get your friends, family, neighbors just about anyone you can find, what is cool about this sport is that there are no rules and what I mean by that is there are rules but you don’t have to follow them.

Some of the rules that you don’t have to follow are

• Stopping at traffic signals
• More than 2 people not allowed on the bike
• Wearing helmets and other protective gear
• Maintain lane discipline
• Be courteous to other riders

What attracts most people to this sport is the feeling that you get “King of the Road”. Imagine a 4D version of the most popular game NFS, the only difference is that you get caught you don’t have to restart the game you just lose some points of your pocket! So if there are people out there who are bored of all the bungee jumps, monster rides and other extreme sport, here is a new sport on the horizon.

Have you ever got stuck in traffic? I guess that’s a stupid question to ask, if you are someone who drives to work chances are that you experienced it today. What do you think is the worst part of being stuck in traffic?

• The inability to do something interesting while you are stuck
• The inability to just ram the guy who is trying to cut in
• The annoying guy behind you

I guess for most people it reminds them of their life. Life is too busy these days, people don’t have time to work, sleep or eat properly and sure as hell don’t have time to think about their life. I guess when you are stuck in traffic and pretty much cant go anywhere or get anything done you start to think about your life and can’t help but notice that your in a similar situation and I believe that’s what really frustrates them.

So the next time your are stuck in traffic ask yourself are you frustrated because your stuck in traffic or because you realized that you are stuck in life? And the truth shall set you free!