By Atul Rawat
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ….Peeeeeeeeeeeep.. the blaring sound of honking drives all of us crazy to no end. The great honkers consider honking as their birthright if not their constitutional right. While individual liberty is enshrined in the constitution, the birthright to honk has been acquired by the citizens to further strengthen their individual liberty.
Indian drivers on the road have this great urge to honk every three seconds – it does not matter what the state of the traffic is. Some even honk while driving on roads with no traffic at all – habit. Well, it is like an emotional support to the driver when one is on the road. In the vehicle one is busy multi-tasking – mobile phone call, navigation, music, etc. In such a case honking is a natural outcome which is involuntary activity between the brain and the hand. It is all about emotions silly – it has nothing to do with traffic, it is the stress, or one is late or angry or hungry or unpaid or fuel prices have gone up or simply life itself has become difficult. The great Indian horn becomes therapy.
One has always wondered, what is so different in other countries when it comes to honking compared to our beloved India. How is it feasible that drivers in the other countries do not honk? I guess they have not been taught to utilise this all important accessory in the vehicle. It is a shortcoming of their driving schools and methodology. We are much ahead – we are taught and even if we are not, we just like to express ourselves. I have always wondered, why would a horn be placed in a vehicle if it is not to be blown every three seconds. Well, simply – Call it blowing one’s own trumpet.
We are proud users of the horn, not only because it is our birthright, it is also to indicate that the traffic signal light is red, then it is orange and then it is green. It does not matter that the traffic is at a standstill, one must honk because there is a car in front. It is almost as if this eerie silence is disconcerting a bit to the poor driver and makes the driver nervous. Giving a honk makes the driver relax. There are other circumstances as well – there are cattle in front, uncle in front is taking wide U turn, there is a marriage procession and, simply, the driver ahead appears confused.
Honking makes one feel like the proverbial Moses to have the biblical parting of the traffic ahead, only to allow the person honking to pass.
We are also musical by nature. As the countdown on the traffic signal reaches 10, honking starts as if an orchestra is playing on the street. The moment, countdown reaches 3, all hell breaks lose. God forbid if you are a second late or your vehicle stalls, you will be a subjected to melodious honking, not to mention the looks of the fellow drivers on the road – if looks could kill, one would just vaporise under the glare.
Then we also have these unneccessary sign boards on the road – Pedestrian crossing? Honk. School zone? Honk. Hospital area? Extra honk. It is like the driver has gleefully accepted the challenge thrown by the offensive sign board that has been put on the road as a no honking zone.
What about the motorcyclist who is barely able to squeeze through impossible gaps between the vehicles. It is amazing. Not to forget his continuous beep for all to make way.
Nobody knows why they are honking – it is just the urge to part of the great honking festival and celebrate the noise. We never know, the aliens on the planet Mars, may be listening to this strange communication coming out of the Earth and must be terrified to come to our planet.
Well, at least the economy has benefitted. There are so many types of horns in the market and it provides livelihood to so many. Even to the doctor who treats us for our loss of hearing. Bigger the vehicle the better it is. It is like a tank on the road, all muscular and announces it’s arrival not only by its looks but also by it’s honk. Even a small hatchback, nearby would be crushed by the twin onslaught.
Is this a just a symptom of our aggressiveness or is a way to communicate one’s territorial behaviour of the jungle. It is now our culture, our language our emotional expression. Some countries are known for jazz. Some for classical music. India has created an entirely new audio genre: Traffic Percussion in B Flat Major.
And perhaps, one day, when archaeologists discover our civilisation, they will not remember us for monuments or technology.
They will simply hear a distant echo across history: “Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!”
(Pssssst – what about the blaring sirens of the mighty – I shudder.)
