Election Day Update

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While we are sitting, waiting for the election results, I thought I'd tell you about an experience that Dan Lewis and Ashley Hartman thought was one of the most amazing. It was a traffic jam in Jodhpur. Big deal? Remember I wrote about the narrow streets and the traffic that was so intense that I had trouble describing it? Well, try to picture this; a 10 foot wide road with vendor stalls on both sides jutting into the street. Bicycles, motorcycles, three-wheeled taxis (there's a picture of one in last night's blog) and pedestrians going both ways in a crush like nobody's ever seen. There is no sidewalk or curb, just storefronts and parking and vehicles and pedestrians all hurrying every which way. Now imagine a cross steet of the same size, with the same volume of vehicles and pedestrians trying to cross at a 90 degree angle. There is no stop sign. There is no light. The rule is . . . there are no rules as far as I could decipher, except that the strong win. At this intersection everything came to a stop. No one could move. Not a bicycle, not a motor cycle, not even a walker. We were stopped dead and could not go forward or backward. Had a panic occurred or had there been a crime, it could have been deadly. We've read about hundreds of religious pilgrims being crushed to death in panics. We now know how that could occur. Eventually we worked our way out, the only way possible. The person in front of us moved and we moved. We cleared the intersection and went back to the other danger, that of being run down by one of those ubiquitous taxis or motorcycles. How's that for an adventure?

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Comments

[Elizabeth]

Hi David! It is fun being on the other end of this blogging thing. Love reading your entries. We are heading out soon for a Obama Victory party. Hopefully that is the case! Please dont kill Vincent. We don't want the next time we see you to be in a Delhi prison! xo

[theo]

wow
Wish I were There!!!!!

[Marley & Dylan's Dad]

I was there...
...and the human traffic jam was as described. Even with 14 photographers with 30+ cameras being there, we have seen no good picture of the jam. We have seen remarkable pictures of locals living their lives, in a context that is dramatically different from what we are used to in the United States. I was in India 36 years ago. The progress I have noticed is the beggars are fed, none are carrying dead babies for sympathy, and the food market has an abundance of vegetables that look better than what we get at home, spices, and more. My perception is the infrastructure, teeming horn blowing motor vehicle, bicycle, cows, elephant and human traffic, and trash everywhere have not noticeably changed. So far, this has been a fabulous trip, even though I am one of two non-picture takers (Erica being the other). I am looking forward to the camel fair tomorrow, and hold out modest hope for an interesting 5 hour bus drive to get us there. Love Dan

[David Horvitz aka Pops]

jams
dan man, got a mission for you.....get the jams! break out that camera!!!!