Just another day on the road
The various hues of Guru’s own village
The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns made getting out on the road a luxury. And it has made me savor even the very trite sights and sounds that greet me as I drive to work each day.
Besides being a cozy buffer between my home and work life, the morning drive has always been my window outside the cocooned existence we enjoy. And if you live in Gurgaon, this window can present you with cheerful, amusing, and disgusting sights in equal measure.
As soon as my car leaves the gates of my residential society, I am welcomed by a bevy of cows lounging in the middle of the road, chewing away to glory. On many days, I see a car or two parked alongside the cow huddle. Stepping out from the cars are formally-dressed men and women who offer food to the cows while maintaining a safe distance to avoid being slapped by their flailing tails and flapping ears. Holy cow.
As I meander my way through without disturbing the cows’ meditative state, I find myself at a long-duration traffic light junction. My patient wait is usually interrupted by a face plonking itself flat against my side window. Say hello to a troop of beggars making the most of a bunch of cars stuck waiting.
My personal misgivings about entertaining roadside beggars aside, I am always awestruck by the cheerful demeanor of the beggar kids even in the face of an extremely hard life. And of course, no one can top them in their attention-grabbing antics. I have seen everything from a boy cartwheeling in front of my car to a young one appearing in my window out of nowhere and pointedly asking for a ragged carpet lying in my car’s backseat.
And just then, the lights turn green.
What follows is a kilometer and more of a road that could put the craters on Mars to shame. Fortunately, soon enough, it bends into one of the prime connecting roads in the city that stretches over nine km, replete with underpasses and views of the lavish, concrete jungle that is Gurgaon.
The speed limit on this road — 50kmph or ~30mph. No doubt it is a prudent restriction given the reckless nature of driving but, considering this is one of the few smooth city roads, it is quite a letdown. And sure the underpasses are notorious for becoming rafting ponds during the rains but, on regular days, the road pulls all ends to justify Gurgaon’s Millennium City title.
As I get to the point where this road meets the national highway, I am barely two kilometers away from my workplace, having covered nearly thirteen already. Yet, on many days, this can consume over a third of my travel time. An ill-planned highway intersection and a jam-packed side lane that opens into my office gate make up this rather frustrating segment of the journey.
And there ends my forty-minute drive. Or does it?
“Parking full”, says a small placard at the gate. Alas.
Since you scrolled all the way, here are some fun postcards from the road!
