A couple of weeks back, I missed my violin class. We left home in good time but an accident on the interstate highway caused a whole lot of traffic pile-up. Not in the metaphorical sense, but all the vehicles piled up one behind the other causing the traffic to move at a snail’s pace. We persisted for a while and had to give up the whole idea after a while. Took the nearest exit and revved back home…
It was irritating to say the least. What was worse was the sight of miles and miles of cars, still and unmoving… Each car seemed like an individual cell, sealing off its occupant from any other human being into some kind of an icy isolation. At that moment, I rued over the lack of a good public transport system in Atlanta. Atleast, one gets a chance to observe one’s fellow commuters, maybe strike up a conversation… the remotest of human communication. Bombayites may recall the awfully cramped (that’s an understatement) suburban trains and shudder at the idea but I still prefer those *close-quartered* train compartments to these sole Hondas, Toyotas or Mercs…
Considering the endless periods of time that people here spend in their cars, it’s no big deal that the cars are outfitted splendidly. They’re so well stocked with food, entertainment and drink. Does one really need to step out of his gaadi? And with a cellphone, you’re really well-connected.
I’d love to stay in a city which has a good network of trains or buses. The first thing I’d do is pack the car off into some dark garage so that the only time it’d see the light of the day would be when I choose to go for a road-trip…
[Not my best writing effort, but I can feel *the flow*…:-)]
rileen says:
I’d love to stay in a city which has a good network of trains or buses.
Come to Europe 🙂
August 17, 2004 — 6:21 am
Lakshmi says:
NY, Boston, Chicago… Bombay?
August 17, 2004 — 6:30 am
rileen says:
Arre, i was just kidding; of course good local transport isn’t exclusive to Europe!
August 17, 2004 — 6:49 am
Lakshmi says:
I agree, Rileen.. Just suggesting that moving to any of the above-mentioned cities looks more likely than moving to Europe..:-)
August 17, 2004 — 10:22 am
rileen says:
🙂
Are you likely to be returning to India anytime soon?
August 17, 2004 — 10:27 am
Lakshmi says:
No.. not in the visible future.
August 17, 2004 — 10:31 am
arunshanbhag says:
Atlanta is particularly horrendous in this regard. You absolutely need a car to do anything. Even get milk, or a cup of coffee. The US Northeast is much better that way. Come on up to Boston!
It is amazing the amount of time folks spend in their metal/plastic boxes. And you are right, many friends justify buying ‘fully loaded’ cars, precisely because they spend so much time in them each day! So you get to spend more time?
Then everyone is getting fat and blaming someone else.
August 17, 2004 — 6:30 am
sat_chit_anand says:
This brings up another irony of modern day travel – cell phones.I travel a lot (or used to but havent lately) and I always wonder as I wait for my flight at the airport lounges…”What did people do when they didnt have cell phones?”. A little thinking brings up some answers like ‘They struck conversation’, ‘They read interesting stuff’, ‘They took a short nap (beleive me there is nothing like a quick nap)’ etc. Cell phone are slowly becoming man’s best friends and this is not just when you are connected to someone but also when you have sometime to twiddle your fingers. You play some hi-tech games. You surf the web, check email etc. Its feels like such an irony that the very instrument for human communciation has taken humans away from really communicating with each other. The worst is when the person is using an ultra microscopic hands free and blurts out ‘Yeah!’, ‘Hmm’, ‘Alrite’ as he walks past you and you think for a moment that it was you he/she was talking to and then realize that stupid hands free thing hanging on to their ear. For a change everybody should choose one day as the ‘No Cellphone Day’ and try really talking to someone.
August 17, 2004 — 10:31 am
parag says:
Nice thought! But, I’d prefer 15-20 minutes of isolation with my daughter on the way to work rather than waiting for a bus or a train somewhere exposed to the elements. The way American cities are built up, the places with good public transportation are usually the ones that are most crowded and cramped. I wouldn’t want to give up my greenery and open spaces for public transportation.
Forget about big cities. Move to a small town in the Midwest. Everything is closeby and roads are not crowded. You won’t spend too much time isolated in the car. The people are friendlier here too. They don’t walk around with a scowl like they do in the big cities.
Atleast, one gets a chance to observe one’s fellow commuters, maybe strike up a conversation… the remotest of human communication.
Why do you want to talk with perfect strangers/weirdos on the train? Isn’t that what we are doing here anyway??? 😉
August 17, 2004 — 7:21 am
rileen says:
Why do you want to talk with perfect strangers/weirdos on the train? Isn’t that what we are doing here anyway??? 😉
Ha ha 🙂
But besides the physical aspect to the interaction on a train, you must also concede that by now our ‘strangeness’ is somewhat imperfect :-p
August 17, 2004 — 8:23 am
Lakshmi says:
Talk, maybe not… Observe, most definitely, yes…
August 17, 2004 — 10:09 am
hemya says:
I agree with you on the Midwest ka funda…..big cities with good public transport are fun for a week or two…..after that I can’t wait to get back to Akron and my ten minute ride to work:)
August 18, 2004 — 6:18 am
radhika74 says:
“Not my best writing effort, but I can feel *the flow*.”
I feel it too,so it has to be good!:)
August 17, 2004 — 8:29 am
Lakshmi says:
Wow! Inspiring.. many thanks!!!
August 17, 2004 — 10:23 am