(Don't) Horn Please !

A while back an American customer visited our company. It was his first visit to India. Needless to say, he was quite take aback with the traffic and all the horning. He was amazed that there were no accidents. I called it 'organized chaos'. Horning in India is so common that trucks insist we horn past them.

Last week I came across a news item on TV which showed a person from Delhi who didn't horn from years. This habit of his rubbed off on his near and dear. He commented that not horning made him more patient and calm. He said people reach the same place at almost the same time whether they horned or not. Then why get yourself all worked up. Relax ! Initially, I thought it is impossible not to horn while driving in Hyderabad. The traffic is so unruly. People almost take pride in breaking rules. Driving is quite a task in today's Hyderabad. It is a traumatic experience.

However, that two minute news piece keeps ringing in my head all the time when I drive these days. I am making a conscious effort to avoid horning each time I would have otherwise. My effort has been an instant success. I managed not to horn a single time yesterday. Definitely, the first time for me that a day went by without hitting the horn. I feel very calm and composed when I do not horn and get hypered up with all the chaos around. I feel much less stressed coz of this. I don't think India will become horn free in the foreseeable future but hope the volume gets lower and lower as time goes by.