Highway lines

Looking out of the window...

Forget taking a flight or rushing for tatkal to open. Today, the NH is so good, that you can reach Bangalore from Chennai, at six hours flat. And I am talking of point to point, with a breakfast halt and a couple of leg-stretch breaks.

Any decent car—doesn’t have to be a Passat, which is my favourite— keeps chugging along nicely and averaging 100 throughout is almost possible. Almost, because of two things: one, heavy vehicles which take up parallel lines, and appear like a newly wedded couple holding hands. No amount of honking or dipping your beam works.

The other speed breaker are the dogs and cats, though it is predominantly the former which get hit by vehicles travelling at 120 or more. I have never seen a rabbit scoot in urban surroundings, but the speed at which these dogs run into a vehicle is a death wish that probably only a morphine dependent cancer patient may possess.

Of course in certain stretches on the Hosur road, you have the yellow railings which make it impossible for dogs to dart from east to west or vice versa, but the number of stiff little bodies on the roads make you wince. While the maintenance crew is busy raking the dead leaves and watering the plants – let me tell you I appreciate that- but no one gives the dead a second look... and they lie there for days at an end I am told... Will the highways department allow for some decent burial I wonder?

The other thing that the NH guys have to look into, is the change-over time at the toll gates. A friend told me that at 4 pm, when there is a shift change , there is a massive waste of time, since handing over is manual. There was a time when the Indian Railway booking counters faced similar problems, but then they came up with a workable solution. Windows are closed by relay, so that people need not wait forever. Hope something similar is worked out . And be prepared for one more eyebrow- wrinkler moment—the men at the toll gates badger you for change, so rudely that you would want to come back and reward your MTC conductors with a medal.

And yes, I am going to leave you with one more spoiler... entering Bangalore used to fill your entire body with a dose of freshness.. it used to be such a perk –up... but now, all you see are glass facades and as you drive under the elevated corridor that is coming up you realise that very soon every city may wear the same look.

What a pity... needless to say, we headed to the nearest pub...