How to walk?
(In Hyderabad)
Do babies learn to walk first, or talk?
I don’t know.
In any case, this is a blog post by a baby who can talk but may not really know how to walk.
Walking, the key skill that differentiates other humans from babies seems trivial for most able bodied humans. You may think that you have mastered it. After all you have been doing it since childhood,(10,000 hour rule?) and you would be correct, unless you happen to be in Hyderabad.
Because you see, mastery of just simple bipedal motion is not enough to navigate the great Nizam city.
Walking in Hyderabad can sometimes be an intellectual exercise akin to solving a Rubik’s cube. You need to plan the next 10 steps in advance or you will end up standing in a gutter.
And sometimes you have to downright do rock climbing.
Now you know why there are so many trekking clubs in Hyderabad.
Even on footpaths, pedestrians are not the first class citizens. No Sir, the footpaths are actually territory of Store banners and two wheeler parking.
Even when there are no banners or bikes, there is a fucking tree in the middle of a narrow footpath.
If walking along Hyderabadi roads is adventure sports, then crossing them is a Indiana Jones movie.
The only traffic rule in Hyderabad is that there are no traffic rules and only way to cross a road is to dodge 2 tonnes of steel traveling at 60 kilometer per hour.
So, How to walk in Hyderabad?
The answer is…..*drum roll*
-> learn advanced puzzle solving, rock climbing, swimming and have reflexes of a cheetah .
Simple isn’t it.
Walking in Hyderabad is not all that bad. And probably is a much better experience than some other Indian cities. It’s just that as a pedestrian you sometimes feel like second class citizen on the road; the scooters, the cars, the construction material and the sewage water encroaching your way.
In any case, walking on Hyderabadi streets, you sometime do come across wonderful sights.
