The Elephant in the Road? (What Elephant?)

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I would think we’re all more than adeqately familiar with the long list of clichés about roads in India — they’re chaotic, people honk a lot, there’s no clear lane structure, there are all these ultracheap, Ipod-sized cars… and yeah, there’s the occasional animal. Just in case you’ve forgotten some of them, here are the clichés again for you:

Amid a cacophony of horns, a blood-red sport utility vehicle weaved between cars, passing Mr. Sharma within a razor’s edge on the right. A school bus snuggled close up on his left. No one seemed to care about traffic lanes. Cars bounced in and out of crater-size potholes.

[…] Sharing the road with him were a bicyclist with three cooking-gas cylinders strapped to the back of his bike, a pushcart vendor plying guavas, a cycle rickshaw loaded with a photocopy machine (rickshaws often being the preferred mode of delivery for modern appliances).

There were also a great many pedestrians, either leaping into traffic in the absence of crosswalks or marching in thick rows on the sides of the road in the absence of sidewalks. At one point, a car careered down the wrong side of the road. Then a three-wheeled scooter-rickshaw came straight at Mr. Sharma, only to duck swiftly down a side street. At least this morning there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is. (link)

I have no problem if a reporter goes to Delhi, notices that the traffic is intense, and writes about it; some clichés, admittedly, are based in truth. (The article, incidentally, is by Somini Sengupta, with contributions from Hari Kumar and Seher Mahmood.) What I do have a problem are silly non-observations, like “At least there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is.” In fact, you didn’t see any elephants, did you? Why report on what you didn’t see?

Though I must admit I am no expert either, I have never seen an elephant on the road in central Delhi… Cows and goats, yes. But an elephant, no — it seems like an exceptional rather than an ordinary occurrence.

I think someone is pulling Somini’s leg.

119 thoughts on “The Elephant in the Road? (What Elephant?)”

  2. I agree with your criticism in spirit. But the first time I took my American-born wife to India, we did, in fact, see an elephant on the road that runs past the Santa Cruz local train station in Bombay. (I have a picture somewhere taken from the upper deck of a BEST bus.) Offhand I cannot recall a specific similar elephant sighting in Delhi, but I’m quite sure they aren’t rare.

  3. I couldn’t bring myself to read the article after I saw the title. I immediately checked the byline and was even more annoyed when I saw it was by Somini Sengupta, whom I haven’t exactly associated with this kind of snake-charmers-and-rope-trick style reporting.

    Speaking of traffic, here’s a fun video showing how it’s done. Don’t miss the white Amby that shows up at 1:19.

  4. I can say this though: If indeed you find an elephant in public, it definitely is not a stray elephant – like those stray cows and dogs – a very important distinction

  6. I agree with your criticism in spirit. But the first time I took my American-born wife to India, we did, in fact, see an elephant on the road that runs past the Santa Cruz local train station in Bombay. (I have a picture somewhere taken from the upper deck of a BEST bus.) Offhand I cannot recall a specific similar elephant sighting in Delhi, but I’m quite sure they aren’t rare.

    Ah, I was worried that there would be people who’ve seen elephants in big metros after all! (I’ll at least be safe until someone chimes in that they once saw an elephant in blue jeans, smoking a bidi outside Narula’s at Chandni Chowk… 😉

    Still, maybe I should add in a little poll or something.

  8. At least this morning there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is.

    There is, quite rarely, a temple elephant on the road, but it is by no means a normal or even semi-frequent occurrence. It’s like saying “Cars zipped past on the highway, with the occassional rubbernecking for a car with a smoking radiator in the service lane, but at least there weren’t any mattresses flying from truck beds, as there sometimes are.”

    The writer should’ve stuck to the more reliable (and true) tropes of cows and dogs. Of course, we don’t let buffaloes on the road because they’re black.

  10. Speaking of traffic, here’s a fun video showing how it’s done. Don’t miss the white Amby that shows up at 1:19.

    Rahul, I’d seen that video before. The funny thing about it is the way it actually shows quite clearly that there are rules and patterns, though they happen to be different rules and patterns than in the U.S.

    Cars crossing the flow of oncoming traffic do sometimes have the right of way (especially if there are a large number of them, or they’ve been waiting a bit). Buses and trucks trump cars, especially when the former are moving at speed. Pedestrians and cyclists can sneak across big roads when cars are turning. Etc.

  14. The funny thing about it is the way it actually shows quite clearly that there are rules and patterns, though they happen to be different rules and patterns than in the U.S.] Cars crossing the flow of oncoming traffic do sometimes have the right of way (especially if there are a large number of them, or they’ve been waiting a bit). Buses and trucks trump cars, especially when the former are moving at speed. Pedestrians and cyclists can sneak across big roads when cars are turning. Etc.

    Rules, I don’t know. Patterns, yes. And might is right usually. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, it might be the only system that will work with the volumes, diversity of vehicles, and infrastructure in India. And I also don’t think it is interesting or exciting enough to write a story about, especially with this overarching tone of “Indian roads are anarchic, uncivilized, and dangerous places.” There are various aspects about infrastructure, pollution etc. that are more reasonably discussed in a piece on the new middle class car, but writing those might require more than 10 minutes of thought while sitting on the can.

  15. Though I must admit I am no expert either, I have never seen an elephant on the road in central Delhi…

    A number of times I have seen elephant in Delhi.

    Usually, with a holy man.

  16. Elephants are indeed rare in Central Delhi…but one time, I actually saw one in Connaught Place. It was part of an advertising campaign…the elephant had an ad in the form of a drape that was hanging down its sides, and there was a dholi (dhol player) accompanying it.

  17. Someone is annoyed by somini sengupta’s rambling farcicles? Join the line…

    The long, long… really long line.

  19. Headlines are written by NYT editor, not Somini. Thats what she said last time @saja when questioned about another article with stupid headline.

  21. Never seen an elephant in Mumbai (Vile Parle and downtown) but the odd cow and quite a few dogs and lots of slum kids and street sellers. None will be adversely impacted by these little cars and they’ve got to be a hell of a lot safer than the helmet-less, wife-and-two-kids-riding-pillion, barely-balanced motor scooters that infect Indian streets at the moment.

  22. If the roadways of New and Old Delhi are one’s first into to India after arriving at Indira Gandhi International, yeah, it’s a culture shock, no two ways about that!

  23. The long, long… really long line.

    You mean, like the ones they have outside rations stores in India where the starving masses get subsidized sugar and rice?

  26. 23 · Rahul said

    The long, long… really long line.
    You mean, like the ones they have outside rations stores in India where the starving masses get subsidized sugar and rice?

    And like this one on Sepia.

  27. Seen elephants several times in Delhi – both on the main roads and even the narrower residential streets. But the most exciting animal sighting was once on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road, when a bunch of camels suddenly began racing, goaded on by their dashing and colorfully dressed riders. No, it was not a parade. And yes, that is a fast road.

  28. I’ve seen an elephant in Delhi once, as well. I’m more suprised by the authors use of the phrase ‘at least…’ – elephants are very sweet, I’d rather have a few of them on the road instead of all those noisy autorickhaws and lorries…

  29. Have to add, incidentally when I was in India last week I had asked my aunt about the prevalence of elephants in Delhi she replied that it is not uncommon, as Delhi is apparently surrounded by a lot of forested areas.

  30. As long as the mahut gets 500 bucks for allowing tourists to pose with it, hail to the elephant.

  31. Have to add, incidentally when I was in India last week I had asked my aunt about the prevalence of elephants in Delhi she replied that it is not uncommon, as Delhi is apparently surrounded by a lot of forested areas.

    I’ve lived in Delhi for most of my life, and although it is surrounded by a few bird sanctuaries, I’ve never heard of elephants in those forested areas. The only elephants on Delhi road that I’ve seen (albeit infrequently) are usually being taken by their mahouts to fairs and the like to give rides to children. Also, on Republic Day (January 26), kids who get awarded medals for heroic acts get to ride them during the parade. Of course, Delhi is known for its abundant macaca population.

  34. The GOI may feel embarrassed by the greeting NRI and other foriegners such as tourists await them on the overcrowded streets of India, but let’s face it, that is exactly what most people go to India for, the unusual experinences you won’t get elsewhere. And it provides alot of literary material compared to the sterile blandness of other areas.

  35. I have never been to Delhi so I don’t know about elephants there, but I have seen an elephant on the road in Bombay several times. The elephant was not wandering but had a “mahoot”, it was a rare occurrence and kids would line up to see the elephant, also this was on a side street not the fast lane of a highway.

    If you do a Google search for images of an Elephant in Bombay you will find several such photos.

  36. Amardeep:

    What I do have a problem are silly non-observations, like “At least there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane, as there sometimes is.” In fact, you didn’t see any elephants, did you? Why report on what you didn’t see?

    Well, maybe she wanted to say that elephants are disappearing in India at an alarming rate. So alarming that “I didn’t see any on the streets of Delhi. They’ve all disappeared”.

  37. Dude, I said this a year ago. Somini is a blind coconut and perhaps depressed a bit.

    I disagree with you. While I don’t think Somini’s articles are the most insightful or piercing, there is nothing wrong with identifying or writing about negative aspects, and I have no requirement of “balance” (equal number of “look, multiplexes and pizza parlors galore!” articles). I was actually surprised by the headline (elephants are by no means commonplace or routine on India’s roads) and the obsession with the tired old nonsense in this article, especially when there is substantial stuff to write about, because I had not associated that with her reports in the past.

    And making irrelevant and unsubstantiated ad hominem attacks does not exactly bolster your case, even if it makes you feel better.

  38. The only good use of the elephant-in-the-subcontinent trope, in my book.

    That was a particularly apt Orwell reference you brought up, given his contempt for writers who employed typical tropes and cliches in their work.

  39. By the way, “Chewing bamboo in the fast lane” would make a great title for a blog on high-speed panda conservationism.

  41. I have seen temple elephants on the roads once in a bluemoon, but I thought these Elephants preferred to chew Sugarcane rather than Bamboo? I think NYT is starting to mix up its oriental stereotypes.

  42. Don’t know about the large cities. I grew up in a small (Small by Indian standards. It had a population of ~ 150,000) town in Tamil Nadu. There were three major temples in town, all of them near the town center. Two of them had elephants and it was customary for the elephants and their tenders (mahouts?) to take a stroll around town for an hour so every evening, collecting money from passersby. Probably served as an excercise for the elephants too, which are otherwise cooped up in the temples all day. Good times …

  43. Rahul:

    I couldn’t bring myself to read the article after I saw the title.

    What’s wrong with “Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants”? It’s a headline that covers a splashy event, as splashy as a jumbo bag of onion sambar hitting the sidewalk.

  44. What’s wrong with “Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants”?

    I guess it is better than “Indians hit elephants amid roads”, or, worse, “Elephants hit Indians amid roads”.

  45. “Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants”

    Actually a lot of Indians have been hitting the road (quite literally) recently. At least in Bangalore (where I spent the last month), I heard an ambulance every day. Quite a lot of accidents. Given the way people drive, I am not surprised at the number of accidents. It is just scary to go out there, that’s all.

  46. “Chewing bamboo in the fast lane” would make a great title for a blog on high-speed panda conservationism.

    pingpong, I see you’ve read Eats Shoots and Leaves. It could be Panda conservation, especially if it isn’t read as Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

  48. Methinks that deep down some people in the west are peeved at the Tata Nano and the attendant environmental externality the car will cause. The unenviable problem the critics/environmentalists face is how to critique the Nano? They can’t just come out and order Indians to not drive, because that would be plain hypocrisy and may even be construed, by some, as, gasp! – racism. Racism it is. Any westerner who thinks that Mr.Sharma, Ms.Sandhu, Mr.Subramaniam, Ms.Sajid or Mr.Samson should refrain from purhcasing a four wheel conveyance should exchange places with an Indian citizen. That goes for – Mr. Tom Globalization is great as long it’s benefitting the West Friedman, too.

  49. Btw – Thanks, Prof.Singh, for highlighting Ms.Sengupta’s shocking lack of professionalism. Usually, bloggers of a certain stature are reluctant to point out the shortcomings, however, glaring [Zakaria/Neocon and the genuflecting Indian-American media come to mind] of south Asian movers and shakers, especially, when they are speaking on behalf of the grey lady.

    ps – in case i haven’t said this before – many thanks, on behalf my grandparents, parents and siblings for the excellent, india after gandhi series. if there is an award for blog post of the year……

  50. What a load of crap. I’d the same reaction after seeing the headline. But I did see a few elephants (with their mahouts on top) while driving from Thrissur (in Kerala) to Coimbatore (in Tamil Nadu) — and this was on the NH (the Indian version of the interstate). They were probably going from one village temple to another.