Mumbai’s traffic is horrendous for cars. It is equally horrendous for pedestrians. In case you don’t know it, our streets are paved with gold especially for those who occupy them as vendors or squatters. Mumbai’s real estate prices are rising higher than the skyscrapers and are coming up faster than the old buildings that are falling down. With just an island to build on, we really have option but to go up.

So for those who can’t afford a place to stay, a spot on the pavement is nothing less than a gold mine.

And with pavements encroached upon by squatters and vendors, pedestrians have no option but to walk on the roads hoping it’s their lucky day and they don’t get bumped off by speeding cars.

But my story today is about crossing the road which is equally fraught with danger since the traffic signals at pedestrian crossings never work. At least the one I have to use on one of the busy arterial roads of Mumbai which is busy all day and night.

There are four pedestrian crossings on this road since it also has two schools and a hospital apart from towering skyscrapers and shops. So this is a busy road not only for the cars that use it as a connector between North and South Mumbai, but it is also a lifeline of the neighbourhood.

There have been one or two fatal accidents which ensure that the pedestrian crossing near the school works during school pick up and drop off time but for the rest of the time the light just blinks yellow warning you that the cars are NOT going to stop leave alone slow down . As a matter of fact, the motorists particularly speed up in order to get the green light at the major traffic junction a 100 metres or so down the hill. Which is why, for people like me crossing the road can be a chore. Not only do I have to wait for 10 minutes or more, but when I get that lull in the flow, I have to make sure I get across 40 feet in less than a minute. And this is a road with two way traffic!

The other day, after waiting for 10 minutes, I realised that the traffic was simply not going to slow down . It was 10 am and everyone was in a rush to get to the office. I would possibly have to wait for half an hour till all the office goers had reached their destination. And I too had other errands to do in yet another direction.

Suddenly it struck me that I had a white cloth bag with me so I lifted it up and waved it like a Peace Flag. Surprisingly, a police van that was also speeding up to catch the signal came to an abrupt halt. Perhaps they were startled to a halt. But following their example, all the traffic stopped at the pedestrian crossing on both sides of the road because everyone was shocked at this little old lady waving a white flag and crossing the road.

I was so pleased with my success that I didn’t notice that the road was soon closed of all traffic to let a VIP convoy zoom past. In my glee I waved my flag to the convoy as well !

Ciao