The rule of the Indian road
Is not the same as our own
The bigger you are
The more road you own
Is the rule of the Indian road.
No one holds back or ever gives way
Always go forward’s the rule of the day.
No matter how small the space
You’ll somehow or other get through.
You must use every inch of the road
Be you tuck tuck, or push bike or car.
No matter how small the space
There’s always a way to get through.
Forget all the rules at a junction
You all have to sort of nudge in.
There’s no holding back
Just find the right space
And somehow
You’ll push yourself in.
Though their looming towards you
There’ll be a way through;
Breath in there should just be room.
The rule of the road is unruly
There’s no rhyme or reason at all.
And yet they’re not aggressive
You’ll seldom see anger or anxt.
You kind of get through
And others do too
There’s always just enough space.
Now you must sound your horn whenever you pass.
It’s considered the polite thing to do.
It’s never sounded in anger.
It just means nudge up let me through.
Now the rule of the road in India
Is we don’t need too many rules
But the main rule of all
That makes them all work
Is the rule that says
Thou shalt not kill.
Andrew Green's Poems 