Showing posts sorted by relevance for query rules of the road. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query rules of the road. Sort by date Show all posts

27 September 2006

Indian Rules


Rules Of The Road:
Indian Style

I seem to have been mentioning Tiruvannamalai roads a lot with postings on the rotation of tyres on trucks, our new town Traffic Signals, electric scooters and the sad plight of working animals being made to tackle the frightening traffic congestion of downtown.

As small as Tiruvannamalai is, believe me it gets dangerous on the roads. So read these Rules of the Road and realise what may seem satirical is actually quite literal on the roads of South India.If I find out who wrote them I will let you know; but it wasn't me!

Travelling on Indian Roads is an almost hallucinatory potion of sound, spectacle and experience. It is frequently heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable and, when you are on the roads, extremely dangerous.

Most Indian road users observe a version of the Highway Code based on a Sanskrit text. These 12 rules of the Indian road are published for the first time in English AND PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A SATIRE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!:

ARTICLE I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.

ARTICLE II: Indian traffic, like Indian society, is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to:

Cows, elephants, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, jeeps, ox-carts, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, pigs, pedal rickshaws, goats, bicycles (goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles (passenger-carrying), dogs, pedestrians.




ARTICLE III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: To slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.

ARTICLE IV: Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or aural amulet):

Cars (IV, 1, a-c):
Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, i.e. in clearing dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path.

Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, i.e. to oncoming truck: "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die". In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic).

Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 1 billion whom I recognise". "There is a bird in the road (which at this speed could go through my windscreen)." or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."

Trucks and buses (IV, 2, a):
All horn signals have the same meaning, viz: "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could." This signal may be emphasised by the use of headlamps.

ARTICLE IV: Remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in Article II above.

ARTICLE V: All manoeuvers, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.

ARTICLE VI: In the absence of seat belts (which there is), car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.

ARTICLE VII: Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle

Lane discipline (VII, 1): All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.

ARTICLE VIII: Roundabouts: India has no roundabouts. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.

ARTICLE IX: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centres. Not more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing,and one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.

ARTICLE X: Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash.

ARTICLE XI: Reversing: No longer applicable since no vehicle in India uses reverse gear.

4 January 2018

Girivalam Path Concretisation: Trees facing death as NGT rules flouted

 
The below important article on January 4, 2018 by Shanmughasundaram of “The Times of India” is reproduced in its entirety. Please read and circulate.

 

 
Tiruvannamalai: Hundreds of trees along the Girivalam path are facing an inevitable death as the state highways department has failed to adhere to the rules laid down by the National Green Tribunal to safeguard the premises.

The authorities from the department have covered the area around the trees with concrete, which eventually leads to degradation of the species and slow, but certain death of the centuries-old tamarind and other tree species along the 14-km stretch.

The highways department had covered areas around the trees on either side of the Girivalam path, particularly the stretch of Sonanadhi forest area while taking up work under the Rs 65 crore Girivalam path widening project, a year ago. The authorities had also cut down several trees for the project. However, it was halted following growing protest from environmentalists, social activities and youngsters, against the felling of trees.

Based on the reports submitted by the committee after two field inspections, the NGT passed a final order directing the district administration and the highways department not to fell trees, maintain 2.5 metre pavements on either side of the Chengam Road, lay 2 metre paver block pavements on the hillside from Chengam-Girivalam Road junction upto Anna Arch.

It also stated that the concrete around the trees should be removed for 1 metre radius around the tree trees. The order was passed on May 31 last year. "It is more than seven months since the NGT passed its final order. But the authorities fail to adhere to the order that also spoke about preserving the bio-diversity and mass plantation to restore the lost green cover," said an activist.

The NGT took the issue suo motu and constituted a two-member committee, comprising retired Judge J A K Sampath Kumar and former principal chief conservator of forest T Sekar, to conduct field inspections

Based on the reports submitted by the committee after two field inspections, the NGT passed a final order directing the district administration and the highways department not to fell trees, maintain 2.5 metre pavements on either side of the Chengam Road, lay 2 metre paver block pavements on the hillside from Chengam-Girivalam Road junction upto Anna Arch.

It also stated that the concrete around the trees should be removed for 1 metre radius around the tree trees. The order was passed on May 31 last year. "It is more than seven months since the NGT passed its final order. But the authorities fail to adhere to the order that also spoke about preserving the bio-diversity and mass plantation to restore the lost green cover," said an activist.

The trees for a stretch of nearly 300 metres along Griivalam path (Sonanadhi Reserve forest) are covered with concrete. "It looks like people are strangulating, squeezing the life out of each and every tree. The officials did it intentionally to get rid of the trees ," he added.

Several trees, covered with concrete or debris, have withered. "If the concrete and debris around the trees not removed at the earliest, the stretch will lose its green cover," said another.

Nearly 200 trees needed proper care. Of them, 70 to 80 trees are completely enclosed with cement. They would die soon, if the officials did not act as per the NGT order, yet another activist said.

Officials shrugged off the issue saying they would restore earth around the trees at the end of the project, alleged the activists, and added by the time they complete the project, half of the trees would wither away.

Senior official in highways department said they have taken up the work for 2.6 km on Girivalam path (Kanchi Road stretch) and they have been leaving 1 metre space around the trees. Once the work is completed, they would take up works in other areas and remove the concrete around the trees.


20 April 2007

Tiruvannamalai Shops


I'm on my way into town (the Big City!) to take care of a few errands. My autorickshaw first stops at a local petrol station for a fillup and I'm surprised to see girls nowadays working at the petrol bunk. On a personal level I don't like to see girls/ladies working at such a place as it exposes them to a very rough sort of gent. But, I suspect the owner of the station probably finds it easier to control staff comprised of young girls then men and, on his part, its definitely 'cheaper' to hire ladies!



This is Big Street, one of the main arterial roads of Tiruvannamalai. In the case of most ancient Temple towns in India, the Temple is the heartline and hub around which the city develops. If you want to find out more about the development of this Temple town check out previous posting.



I'm at the corner of Big Street and Car Street, the two major thoroughfares of Tiruvannamalai. At the corner a family rests during their shopping excursion.




Below, a better view of the Big Street-Car Street junction. To city dwellers, this spot might seem innocuous but this is a hazardous spot for both drivers and pedestrians. No rules apply; its a case of just scuttling across as fast as possible. Even drivers experienced on the roadways of such major metropolitian areas as New York, Paris and London, find driving in India a hair-raising experience. To read a 'satirical' report of the 'Indian Rules of the Road', you can check out this earlier posting.



Here are kerosene one-top cookers which used to be the sort of cooker most commonly used even as recently as 5-8 years ago. Nowadays lots of households have switched over to cylinder gas and are using 2-top cookers. A lesser amount of families still cook with deadwood and dried thorny bushes on outside fires.



The below photograph is of a nice, bustling sidestreet filled with interesting shops.





There are lots of food stalls at the side of the road. Here a lady is selling a ragi dish (a type of grain) which is very cooling on hot summer days. However the condiments of pepper and different spicey chutneys (also available at the stall) will probably heat things up nicely!




Finally made it to one of my intended ports of call; the watch repair shop to get a new battery put into my watch.






Next a local pharmaucetical shop to get prescription ointments for both myself and one of my dogs.





There are always plenty of shops available at Temple towns ready to nicely frame holy pictures (or family portraits) for displaying on the wall.





A sadhu taking a tea break. There are numerous sadhus throughout Tiruvannamalai but definitely Arunachaleswarar Temple is particularly favoured by many sannyasins and sadhus.







Because of rampant housing development going on throughout Tiruvannamalai, there is also the requisite drilling and installation of private water borewells at new homes. Although a Municipal water system exists in many areas (on alternate days), those that can afford the cost of approximately Rs.20,000/- (U.S.$450) to drill a private borewell at their land, will do so.

Previously, after the well had been drilled by independent contractors, heavyweight plastic lengths of pipe about 8 feet in length would be joined together and stuck into the well. Nowadays a lightweight pipe is used that comes in one length and can be easily pulled out of the well in case of repair. These huge black pipes outside the store in the below photograph are the new one-length, lightweight plastic piping for borewells.





The next photograph is of a portable shop selling all kinds of metal pieces. Recently there has been talk about conglomerates such as 'K-Mart' coming into India. Nowadays, in Inda, most stores are privately owned, so the entry of such a giant conglomerate will definitely radically affect the shopping landscape of this country. Probabaly 'portable' stores (like this metal one) will be the first to get 'squeezed out' by big conglomerates.





The below photograph is interesting because it shows how shops encroach onto the pavement and roadway. Not that anybody cares too much, but every so often the Municipality gets the idea of putting in new drains or widening roads and suddenly bulldozers appear and knock down anything 'encroaching' onto pavements and roadways. In such cases, shops and stores quickly take their wares off pavements and wait until the Municipality has completed its schemes. Once everything quietens down, the shops put all their products back in their original spots.

Sometimes stores even make permanent (unauthorised) extensions to their shops. In such cases bulldozers come out in force. A couple of years ago the Municipality decided to widen the streets on some arterial roads; after the bulldozers had finished knocking down all illegal encroachments, the town of Tiruvannamalai looked like a war zone. The place was a shambles. It took a long time to get back to normal. Nice to see shops are stretching out again!







Down below a shop selling all kinds of metal utensils and cheap metal doors. Alot of the items you can see are actually hand-welded or hand beaten; there are still plenty of small cottage industries in Tiruvannamalai.







The flowers on sale are jasmine and kankambaram. Most purchasers will make garlands for use either in puja or to decorate ladies' hair. The umbrellas are a protection against the sun, not rain!






In the last photograph I am on Thiruvoodal Street at the flower and vegetable market, making some last minute purchases before I head back home. As always there is the constant reminder of Arunachala in the background.



27 November 2006

Building Rules



An earlier post in this Blog was a tongue-in-check, humourous narrative entitled "Rules of the Road: Indian Style":
http://arunachalagrace.blogspot.com/2006/09/indian-rules.html

Meant in the same light hearted vein, below is a list of Buildings Rules and Regulations. This is particularly apt as Tiruvannamalai is currently in the throes of building fever. Everyday something new is going up. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A SATIRE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Building Rules
Be advised that pursuant to 1st of November 2006, the following regulations are in effect:

112.3 All previous codes are herewith null and void.

112.4 All plans for buildings must be submitted within 10 (ten) years of completion of construction or before the building crumbles to dust, whichever comes first.

112.5 All buildings taller than two stories must have a lift shaft; HOWEVER, it is not required to actually put in a lift.

112.6 Maintenance fees are not to exceed 1% of the total purchase price of flats, except for NRIs, who may be charged 2.5%. In the case of foreign nationals, the sky's the limit.

112.7 Maintenance fees have no relation to maintenance. Maintenance is defined as anything the builder feels like doing, whenever he feels like doing it. Or not.

112.8 The builder shall be responsible for fixing all cracks and water leaks for a period of 6 (six) months hours after buyer moves in.

112.9 All plumbing fixtures must be guaranteed to leak after the first week of use.

113.0 Builders must supply electrical outlets on at least two walls in every room; HOWEVER, it is not required to actually have them connected to any wires.

113.1 All fans must have at least 5 (five) speed settings of which 2 (two) maximum function.

113.2 Whenever possible, light bulb outlets are to be placed so they will either (a) be so low as to be struck by the tenant's head during normal activities, or (b) so high as to be impossible to change even when standing on a chair.

113.3 At least half (half) of all slide bolts must be off-line.

113.4 Every wall must have a minimum of 2 (two) pointless holes in it.

113.5
Kitchen counter areas must be at a height appropriate for either a midget or an NBA basketball player.

113.6 Any kitchen with 2 (two) counter areas must have them be at least 1 (one) meter difference in height.

113.7 No kitchen shall be designed with space for a refrigerator.

113.8 Sinks, bathtubs, and bathroom floors must be angled so they will not drain completely.

113.9 No 2 (two) adjoining rooms shall have their floors at the same level.

114.0 Closets are illegal.

114.1 All paint materials must be diluted with water to a minimum 4:1 ratio to insure consistent streaking and easy viewing of subsequent mildewing.

114.2 Doorway measurements shall be based on the average height of a full-grown male in the 1500s.

114.3 Only unseasoned wood may be used on doors to insure warping during the first rains.

115.0 No building shall be erected further than 1 (one) meter from the neighbouring building. Any new structure which does not completely block the view of the adjacent structure shall be deemed in noncompliance with 115.0. "Completely block the view" is defined as cutting off air currents as well as light.

115.1 All new buildings must have at least 2 (two) underfed dogs on the premises to insure adequate barking, howling, and whining at night so no tenants get a sound sleep. Older buildings may keep 1 (one) dog.

115.2 All deliveries of heavy goods and construction materials to be done between the hours of 11:00 P.M. and 3:00 A.M. for same reason as 115.3

115.3 During times of drought and electric cutbacks, water and power cuts shall occur during 12:00 and 6:00 P.M., the hottest hours of the day, for maximum discomfort.

115.4 All watchmen and their families shall be paid the lowest possible salaries so as to make them vulnerable to enticements by dacoits attempting to ascertain when owners are away.

116.0 Updated Earthquake Safety Standards: Hereon, all new constructions must be able to withstand a tremor registering 2.5 on the Richter scale for 6 (six) seconds before crumbling into jagged hunks of masonry and crushing all inhabitants.

116.1 No building may be constructed on any property which the builder actually owns or has permission of the landowner to build on. This will allow that after years of costly lawsuits enriching local lawyers and judges, the building can be emptied and flats resold to a new group of gullible buyers.

117.0 Any tenant feeling the builder has not fulfilled his contractual commitments in a timely manner shall put their complaint in writing and then wait for a period not to exceed the life of the tenant by more than 25 (twenty-five) years.

120.0 Any or all of these regulations may be changed without notice at anytime, for no apparent reason.

21 October 2008

Swami Suddhananda Ashram


I have previously written about the beautiful Suddhananda Ashram on the Adiannamalai side of the Hill.

The Suddhananda Ashram in Tiruvannamalai (which welcomes visitors) is part of the Samvit Sagar Trust, founded by Swami Suddhananada to reach out to people in all walks of life and enable them to live happily. The purpose of the Ashram is not only for imparting Self-Knowledge but also to promote Swami Suddhananda’s humanitarian vision by providing care for the under-privileged sectors of society through orphanages and educational institutions.


Swami Suddhananda


To find out more about Swami Suddhananda and his work check out this link here.



Suddhananda Words


Love for self: Everybody should love himself/herself. A garbage given to us is that loving yourself is selfish. That is rubbish. On an airplane, if the cabin pressure falls you're asked to first wear the oxygen mask and then help the child. That is not selfish, because if you want to help somebody, you must first find strength in yourself.

Happiness: Be happy, an unhappy man cannot give happiness to others. If he does, he will demand his pound of flesh.

Faith: Often, in the name of faith they ensure that your sense of self is sacrificed from childhood and your spine is broken. If you don't question god, how will you understand yourself?

Leaders: We lack real leaders; when a mob selects leaders, what kind of leaders are you creating?

Following rules: On a small road if two people ride a cycle, both will be very careful. But the moment you have four-lane highways and powerful cars, don't expect the fellow with a Ferrari to go in the last lane at slow speed. He'll go in the first lane at the fastest speed; he has both power and speed. At one point in society everybody followed rules but as more money and power came in so did decadence and degeneration. Don't expect the rich and the powerful to follow rules.

Essence of change: A small car can be made powerful by changing the engine, tyres, steering. But the driver must also change; otherwise, there will be havoc.

Yoga: Its purpose is to go into the stage of samadhi or absolute freedom. But today yoga is associated only with asana, out of the eight limbs people are stuck to only one limb and thus is yoga vulgarised. In the US they now have doga... yoga for dogs. When people come for yoga with their pets, the pets are taught doga!

Meditation: Meditation has become a business with gimmicks, a job... telling people hold your nose, close your eyes, listen to music, dance or stand on one foot. Temporary suspension for 15-30 minutes is touted as meditation. If suspending your mind for half an hour is so good, what about the deep sleep that god has given? Forget god if you don't like god... in deep sleep any average person is suspended continuously for 7-8 hours. If seven hours of natural suspension doesn't enlighten you, how will 30 minutes of suspension do that?



Upcoming programmes at the Ashram are as follows:


Health Camp-Diabetes Management from 11-11-2008 to 16-11-2008
Self Knowledge Camp from 20-11-2008 to 30-11-2008
Deepam Camp from 08-12-2008 to 14-12-2008

Contact Information
Suddhananda Ashram
38 Girivalam Road
Adiannamalai
Tiruvannamalai 606604

Phone Number:
+91-(0)4175-233553


****************************


Most recent contact information for Swami Suddhananda is as follows:

http://selfknowledgeonline.com/contactus.php

SUDDHANANDA FOUNDATION FOR SELF KNOWLEDGE

3/143 V V V Salai
Suddhanandapuram,
East Coast Road, Uthandi,
Chennai - 600 119, Tamilnadu, India.

Phone: +91 44 2453 0638/24530813

23 May 2009

Visiting the Vegetable Market

Until a couple of weeks ago when I hopped on a local bus on its way into Ramana Nagaru, I hadn't travelled on a bus for a long time. What an adventure! Unfortunately as the bus was packed, and I was halfway down the aisle standing with my arms tightly wedged by my side, wasn't able to reach my camera to take snaps of the fun and merriment of all the great things happening inside the bus.


As the adventure was still fresh in my mind, I took the below photographs of buses plying in Ramana Nagar (a couple of hundred yards from Ramana Ashram). The amount of traffic on the road is the usual amount, but its not the traffic that is the main feature - its the NOISE.


Travelling on Indian Roads is an almost hallucinatory potion of sound, spectacle and experience. It is frequently heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable and, when you are on the roads, extremely dangerous.


These 12 rules of the Indian road are published for the first time in English AND PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A SATIRE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!: To read the rules, go to this link here.





















I was on my way to the Vegetable Market off Thiruvoodal Street - which is a great place for haggling over excellent, fresh vegetables.































In the background, barely visible over the roof tops is Arunachala. Very nice too.

30 December 2006

Driving Licences


Officials recently warned that stern action would be taken against people found possessing fake driving licence reportedly being fraudulently prepared by some computer centres.

Regional Transport Offices have been issuing driving licence in a particular format since 1996 and each Regional Transport Office (with a distinct jurisdiction), has a unique code number, which should be on the driving licence.

Holograms on licences should contain three English letters followed by a four digit number. The symbol of the Tamil Nadu Government is perceptible when the licence is looked at either downward or upward, thereby making it possible to identify original licences provided by the Transport Department.

In my opinion, the crucial matter is not driving licences but peoples' observance of the 'rules of the road'. The death and accident rate in all parts of India is horrific; for the reason that no-one obeys traffic regulations! In some strange way I believe legislators will always be shy of implementing the draconian regulations needed to bring greater road safety, because somehow they feel it would be impinging on letting people 'do their own thing'.





Perhaps the only way the road culture will ever change is if petrol becomes too expensive and people are forced back to bicyles and oxen drawn carts!

21 February 2007

Motorbike Loaded


This is a great picture of the common site of a loaded two wheeler. On this particular bike there are 4, but with a bit of adjustment the folks on board probably could have squeezed in another small 'un! When overseas visitors come to Tiruvannamalai they are first amazed at the apparent lack of driving restrictions and regulations and once over the shock; jump on in at the deep end! In this respect I have only ever seen an overseas visitor just the one time, wearing a protective crash helmet whilst operating a two wheeler.


To read a funny, satirical related article please check out an earlier post on this Blog: Indian Rules of the Road.