It’s hot. And dirty. And often less than sweet-smelling. But I am still drawn to this short daily walk between the hotel and office. Maybe because it’s the only time of day I actually get outside during the work week. Or I need a little exercise to work off the giant breakfast I just ate. But it’s actually about the sounds. Motors and horns, oh my! Short toots, triple beeps, long horns, all mixing together for a crazy symphony of sound. The instruments are cars, auto-rickshaws, motorbikes, buses, and trucks. My coworkers have said when they come to the US it is eerily quiet and they miss the noise.
The first encounter riding in a car India can be terrifying. After a few visits and plenty of time sitting in traffic, I now don’t even notice the fact that we are in no particular lane at all, or inches away from the next vehicle or motorbike. Prior travels in the countryside involved passing on blind curves in the mountains, now that was terrifying. In Chennai, I’ve seen a few close calls, but very few accidents, especially compared to the number I see at home. I’m told that’s because we are in the city and with the traffic, no one is going very fast. Drivers also pull over to the side of the road to use the mobile phone. But there are still a number of helmet-less motorbike riders! You won’t see me on one of those. I think the system works because of the horns. Bats use echolocation – the active use of sonar (SOund Navigation And Ranging) to “see” with sound. The horns allow drivers to alert others to their presence and “see” the other vehicles around them. It really works! Maybe I should bring a little more of that home with me.
