Reason #2: The Traffic is Mind-Numbing

What happens when you get small amounts of road space, exploding numbers of new cars, imbecile two-wheelers, maniacal truck and bus drivers all jostling for space, cutting each other off and breaking every rule of driving and road courtesy? Stand by any intersection and observe the mayhem.

There are an estimated 30 lakh vehicles jostling for 7,000 km of road space in Bangalore. And 200 new cars are registered every day (along with hundreds of other vehicles), adding to this mess.

No one observes the rules of driving. Lane markers and traffic lights are wishful reminders of decorum that few drivers care to observe. In reality, everyone drives where they please, stops wherever they want to at any time, and turns anywhere. Drivers on the far left of a road can swipe to take a right turn. Drivers who face an obstruction think nothing of suddenly flowing into your space.

Car horns and brakes are the most frequently used parts of a car, followed by the steering wheel. Turn signals are rarely used. Mirrors are protruding nuisances that are folded in.

What you may have learned in driving school is seldom needed or used on the road. The city’s drivers have devised their own set of signals. A couple of squeezes on the highbeams indicates, “I’m headed at you and am taking your space, so give way.” A wrist stuck out and wobbling in the air indicates, “You can squeeze past my side.” Elbows and foreams may be used to turn a steering wheel so hands can be freed for more critical functions such as talking on the cellphone and checking that the family jewels are intact.

Bangalore has awful roads. Sidewalks are often dug up so pedestrians share the road with vehicles. The majestic trees that form a canopied arch on many roads are daily ripped out to widen roads. The city has tried to add dozens of flyovers and ready-made underpasses (called "magic boxes") to ease traffic. These are so narrow that they actually cause traffic to freeze instead of moving it along.

The most traversed roads are either dug up to retro-fit an antediluvian Metro rail system, or are dumped with re-routed traffic. The city's roads are among the worst I've ever seen. I've seen better roads in Liberia -- and they've had a long-running civil war where grade schoolers with guns run the show. Whenever CNN airs a report on a bombing in Baghdad, I shout: "They have better roads!"

The IT industry works because it is able to wire most of its output to every end of the world. Of course, no one knows that these paragons of efficiency who answer, “Hello, this is Sam. How may I help you?” risk life and limb to get to work, and put their personal health and sanity on the line every day so they can fix customer gripes continents away.

Think of how many hours of your and your school-children’s week are spent going to work and school. Then be sobered by what fraction of your primary school-aged child’s life is spent breathing toxic gases and witnessing human incompetence on a grand scale every day, to and from school.