Sometime back, I had written about how it took me 7 years to get over my fear of driving a car. Ever since, I’ve been driving a lot (and I mean seriously a lot), and that number just keeps increasing every month. No, I haven’t started working as an Uber driver, but still :p
A few days ago, as I was driving home from work, a thought struck me: Why are people in India so obsessed with horns? Why can’t they just stay calm and drive peacefully? If it’s possible in Western countries, why can’t we do the same in India?
I know it’s a weird thought. If you’ve ever been on the roads in India, you’d know how scary the thought of not using the horn can be. It’s as if the horn has become an essential tool for survival, a way to assert dominance and demand attention amidst the cacophony of traffic. Regardless of how scary or absurd that thought was, I decided to pursue it.
“Pursue it? What does that even mean, Vivek?”
Well, I decided to stop using the horn while driving. And now I have driven more than 500 km without honking even once. That too on the crowded roads of Delhi, Gurgaon, and Faridabad. While all of this tested my patience, self-control, and awareness, it prompted me to closely examine my ingrained behaviors. Things that I hadn’t otherwise considered became glaringly apparent. Moreover, this whole experiment made me view society from another perspective—the lens from which we often observe but choose to ignore.
As a society, we’ve become accustomed to a culture of impatience, entitlement, & aggression on the roads. We think other people driving on the road are stupid, just roaming around as if they don’t want to reach their destination promptly. Everyone thinks the other person is foolish, & the moment anyone stops for a second or gets delayed in starting up at a traffic signal, they just lose their mind & start honking incessantly. Then there are the egotistical ones who just want to flaunt their driving skills, overtaking swiftly and driving recklessly as if someone will reward them.
But what if instead of all this, we adopted a gentler approach? What if we drove with empathy and respect for others on the road?
Imagine an India where honking is rare, road rage is unheard of, and peaceful coexistence reigns supreme. While it may seem like a distant dream, perhaps one day, it will become a reality. Until then…