Traffic to Shillong
By Kathy Matlin
One gentle honk—I’m behind you and plan to pass.
Two gentle honks in response—I hear you and it’s OK to pass.
One long continuous honk—I’m coming around and this is also a warning to oncoming traffic to let them know I may be in their lane for a while until I can get around so they can make necessary adjustments.
A series of short honks—I’m passing on a blind curve so am in the oncoming lane. If anyone is coming, make adjustments immediately!
A series of loud and angry sounding honks—get back in your lane because I’m coming and not slowing down!
We shared the road with every means of conveyance known, including thousands—I really mean thousands—of highly decorated trucks, all honking and emitting pollutants which combined with the dust of road building to create respiratory difficulty and grime that left clothing permanently grey.
At dusk, trucks began to park and line both sides of the road because they were not allowed to proceed after dark. We drove through this canyon of trucks. Since the road could only accommodate one lane of traffic in places, we sometimes had to wait while long lines of vehicles came through from the other side. Instant businesses arose to serve the drivers: tea houses, wine shops, motels, cafes and other stores. The stores were little more than four stakes in the ground with sides covered by boards found in the construction areas, or mats and roofs made of whatever was handy—tarp, boards, mats, pieces of tin. They had no electricity, no running water in these makeshift shops and most were less than 8'x6'. It was a dark scene with lots of shadowy figures moving about and made me wonder about the possibility of exploitation and abuse.
Never have I had such a scary experience, but it was a wonderful learning experience, too. As time passed and we traveled more, I came to appreciate the respect the people of India have for each other’s space, not only in their most unusual way of driving but also in their interactions with each other.
Kathy traveled to India in October 2011 with Presbyterian Women’s Global Exchange.
Invite the participant from your synod to your next event to share more insights from this life-changing trip.
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