The traffic caste system

Of course anyone familiar with India will have heard about the caste system ranging down to the untouchables. It remains a topic although it certainly doesn't have the power that it once did. Yet you can see it operating not so much as a caste system but more as a class system.

In traffic, there is a caste system in traffic. At the top is trucks who essentially own the road. They get whatever space they seem to want. Next are the buses who rhunder through, horns blaring and daring anyone other than trucks to take them on. Truck drivers are an intrepid lot who are not afraid of anything apparently. Well, there is one exception and that is the royalty of the road - the sacred cow. Traffic can truly come to a halt for the cow.

Below the bus comes the large vehicles (SUV type things) then cars and taxis, mtorocycle and then the auto rickshaw. To be a drive of these rickshaws, which are really powered by something akin to a lawn mower, requires a fearless willingness to weave through traffic, spotting even the tiniest opening, and, like a thread through the eye of the needle, occupy the space. That is unless a motor cycle has whipped up the side and taken the space away.

Bicycle riders such as April and I occupy a lowly position on the caste scale with only the pedestrian and non sacred animals below us.

Despite the obvious chaos (which as a passanger you are better to ignore) it works. Why is not obvious to a western eye. As a cyclist, however, there is a nerve required as vehicles come up behind you blaring their horn. You know that they intend to avoid you but the horn blaring leaves you wondering. But alas, I am still here (I think the greatest threat right now is the mosquitos)