Rolling Tomatoes: A Commuter's Guide to Indian Roads

Long ago, our brightest minds figured out Earth's escape velocity. It’s so simple, that even an 8th grader could probably calculate Mars’s escape velocity by now. But will we ever, and I mean ever, discover the escape velocity needed to break free from a pothole on an Indian road? Because let's face it, that’s the real scientific breakthrough we’re all waiting for.

Whether you're on a scenic country road, or a state-of-the-art expressway, one thing is certain—somewhere along the way, a pothole is lying in wait, eager to swallow you and your vehicle whole. Christopher Nolan may have directed "Interstellar," but we’ve been living it all along! Our very own Tesseract appears every 100 meters, with your car as the unfortunate time-traveller.

Our modern AI is trained on tons of data, but what should we be trained on? Probably “India is not for beginners” memes. Honestly, driving here feels like a survival game—you don’t need racing lessons; you need pothole-dodging skills!

As someone who loves binge-watching TV shows, I used to look forward to the "winter is coming" season. But as a taxpayer and daily commuter, the season I fear the most is the rainy season. Forget monsters and dragons—my real enemy is the monsoon. Even our $2 billion Navi Mumbai highway didn’t last through one rainy season. So what hope do our regular roads have?.




Honestly, if I ever felt the need for a sticker on my bike, I wouldn’t go for anything flashy. I’d opt for a tomato with the slogan: "Rolling Tomatoes." Because at this point, between the potholes and the rains, that’s pretty much what my commute has turned into—a bumpy, squishy, unavoidable mess.

To be continued....(Road under construction)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Pellichupulu Date

Image
When you grow together in love, sometimes you pause to watch the person next to you and feel thankful for life. You may wonder where it all started. For me, that moment is our first date, “the pellichupulu date” – the starting point of the trajectory of our love. Ayyira and I met at a traditional pellichupulu, spoke there, and connected on Instagram. We hadn't informed our parents of our decision yet, as we thought we should take some time. We texted for a week, and one weekend, I decided to go meet her in Hyderabad. I still recall that day when I stood in the Tatkal line to book a ticket; my hands were trembling not just from the Tatkal pressure, but also from thoughts of how the day would go when I met her in Hyderabad. I texted her the Saturday evening when I was boarding the train, and she had plans for Sunday to visit her parents. However, she cancelled her plans and decided to meet me. She asked about my plan for the day, and honestly, I had none. My whole intention was to me
Read more

Love in inverted schedule

Image
Ram and Ayyira have been married for nearly a year, and in just 10 days, they'll celebrate their first anniversary. They both work in the software industry, but their work schedules are quite different. Ram's work hours follow the usual 9-5 routine, while Ayyira's shift begins at 9, but during a different part of the day. In the beginning, they faced challenges in finding a common time to spend quality moments together. However, it didn't take them long to discover the beauty of love within their inverted schedules. They did have their fair share of arguments and disagreements, watching the newly released movie on matinee or evening show, and going out for lunch or dinner, but the remarkable aspect of their relationship was that they always resolved these issues before bedtime. Netflix and chill, Swiggy and bill. Occasionally, Ayyira had the opportunity to work from home. Before she logged in, Ram would sit beside her, sharing the events of his day. In return, she would
Read more

Packing Happiness

Image
Last night, I found myself in a bit of a rush to send off the skating shoes I'd bought for my nephew. Staff at the RTC parcel service refused to take them unless they were properly boxed up. It was already 8:45 in the evening, and with closing time at 9, I was running out of options. There were no department stores nearby, so in a bit of desperation, I hurried into a nearby PAN shop. The shopkeeper, a man in his sixties, took one look at the shoes and exclaimed with excitement, "Aren't these skating shoes?" It wasn't surprising to me that he recognized them; it was popularised in mainstream movies. But what caught my attention was the genuine joy he expressed as he carefully packed the shoes. Despite his shop being crowded with customers, he didn't hesitate to roll up his sleeves and handle the task with utmost professionalism. During our conversation, he shared with me his longing for skating. He told me how he had always dreamt of owning a pair himself but n
Read more