Varanasi: A beautiful chaos

By Meera Vohra

Chaos can be beautiful, this insight dawns on you, only when you come to Banaras. For an outsider it is quite daunting to see every kind of vehicle making an appearance on the road, at times quite sudden and at the most inappropriate moment. 

The city moves at its languid pace but once on the road everyone seems to be in a hurry. Constant honking, two- wheelers trying to scrape through spaces, giving every pedestrian a nightmarish experience, is what the Banarasi roads appear until you decide to take an autorickshaw to commute and the driver turns out to be rather chatty.

 Even the most bottle necks, as the city boasts of many, may appear a rather smooth sailing affair, as the driver will keep you engaged in a conversation in which the passenger is reduced to a passive listener.  

Who will win the elections this time?  Is enough of a catalyst to spark a conversation that meanders to everything under the sun. Gauging whether the passenger is a local or a tourist makes him select the language of his monologue. Chaste Bhojpuri for the locals, while the outsider gets to converse in a mixture of Bhojpuri and Hindi sprinkled with words of English.

 Political discussion or conversation are ranked on the top when it comes to commuting in a shared auto rickshaw or E-rickshaws , which have outnumbered any other public transport in the city , over the years. No matter what your political leanings are, the auto/E-rickshaw driver will convince you why his political choice is sure to sweep the elections.

 You better believe in his conviction but if you dare to differ, you will be subjected to a deluge of gyan , that comes without a disclaimer of handle at your own risk. 

Politics is not the only forte of the driver, especially those who have reached that age of life where giving their point of view to all and sundry seems as natural as him sitting on the driving seat. 

So a saas –bahu tussle, which the woman passenger could be discussing, will make him assume the agony aunt role. His advice is sure to bring a smile on the co-passengers face, who tends to be patient listeners to this relationship quandary, as most of the time they have no choice.

 The exchange between the commuters caught in the traffic snarls could give any comedy shows a run for their money. The originality of the exchange is sure to tingle your comic streak.

 A constant honking by a car behind an autorickshaw could make him reply; “buy an ambulance instead, you could get an easy pass” is the possible advice of the autorickshaw driver, to the car driver who is trying to find a way in the traffic.

 It is tough to control your smile if you hear such conversations on the road, as you will come across ample, which if not much, could at least ease the stress of spending so much time on the road.

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