[sustran] Re: Indian roads - planes, cows, elephants, mosques

[Jonathan E. D. Richmond]

Great point, and in fact I don't see the occasional elephant, cow or 
unexpected mosque on the footpath as a problem -- quite the contrary, 
these are part of everyday life and offer pleasant distractions or even 
the opportunity to exchange salaam...

This all adds vibrancy and life...

The real problem lies in the corruption that prevents effective operation 
of transport systems -- which could certainly operate quite efficiently -- 
even accommodating elephants -- if properly managed.

                                  --Jonathan


On Fri, 4 May 2007, Madhav Badami, Prof. wrote:

> Dear Carlos,
>
> Once the craziness of the academic term comes to an end, I promise a
> detailed response to Jonathan Richmond's (and others') postings on the
> situation in India (and what we can and ought to do about it). I will
> try and work elephants, cows and yoga  -- but not planes -- into my
> response as well :-). Meanwhile, I will leave you with this personal
> viewpoint ... India is like life itself -- joyous, sometimes sublime,
> and at the very same time, very messy, even obscene, but never ever dull
> and boring.
>
> Madhav
>
> ************************************************************************
>
> "As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it."
> Antoine de Saint-Exupery
>
> Madhav G. Badami, PhD
> School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment McGill
> University Macdonald-Harrington Building
> 815 Sherbrooke Street West
> Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
>
> Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work); 514-486-2370 (Home)
> Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643
> URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning
> www.mcgill.ca/mse
> e-mail: madhav.badami at mcgill.ca
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.org
> [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.o
> rg] On Behalf Of Carlos F. Pardo
> Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 9:42 AM
> To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> Subject: [sustran] Indian roads - planes, cows, elephants, mosques
>
>
> We had the chance to be in India (Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune) last week,
> working in a BRT training course with the SUTP project, ITDP and World
> Bank (which was very useful). Parallel to the workshop I would go
> walking around to see these cities. This news from a plane in the middle
> of a road reminded me of some other issues I saw:
>
> - A mosque as wide as the sidewalk (Delhi), "blocking" the way for
> pedestrians,
> - An elephant walking on a major arterial,
> - The typical cows in roundabouts or roads,
> - The classic situation of the "chaotic" Indian intersection.
>
> This has all made me think deeper about the recent discussion started by
> J. Richmond. Is it institutions? Is it a deeply culturally rooted
> characteristic of Indians? Is it religion, yoga or whatever? I bought a
> book on Indian culture which I've started reading to see if I find any
> answers. I would really like to hear from people in India their point of
> view on why they think this happens. Being from Colombia, I'm completely
> lost trying to understand this.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Carlos
>
>
> Roselle Rivera wrote:
>
>
>
> 	something (amusing/very bothering?) on transport.
> 	 Bad and irresponsible planning? or planned tourist attraction?
>
>
>
> 	** The Boeing 737 stuck in city road **
> 	Residents of the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) are wondering
> how long it will take to remove a disused Boeing 737 that has been
> abandoned in a busy road.
> 	< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6620461.stm >
>
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> 	ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA
> 	PhD Fellow
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-----
Jonathan Richmond

1 (617) 395-4360

e-mail: richmond at alum.mit.edu
http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/