Pavements are called footpaths in India and except for the foot every goddamn thing is seen on them. You will be surprised if you just miss out stamping on a cute mouse, which happens to take a peek in the gap between the flat stone slabs of the pavement to see if it can take a stroll on the supposed footpath.
Some stretches of the pavement are so badly maintained that you would rather walk on the road and avoid being hit by vehicles rather than walk on the footpath and fall into an unknown hole (we cannot copy Alice in Wonderland can we??) and break some vital parts of the body.
If surprisingly some of the pavements are well-maintained, then the two-wheeler riders regale and use them as side roads to zip ahead of the choc-o-block traffic jams so that they can get ahead of most of the four wheelers. They suddenly zoom and zigzag their way cursing all pedestrians walking on the footpath not realizing that they are forcing their way into pedestrian territory. If a pedestrian as much as starts to protest they are given the advice by these dare devils to “Swalpa Adjust Madkolli….side alli odadabeku sir/madam” (Adjust please and move to one side of the pavement)….huh…they can be incorrigible and why should pedestrians walking on pavements adjust and give way to tyres instead of foot on the footpath. Stricter laws should allow the pedestrian to puncture the tyres, which dare run on the path meant for pedestrians and they should tell these traffic law breakers after puncturing “Swalpa Adjust Madkolli…..nimma gaadi thallukondi road alli hogi gadige puncture haksi sir/madam” (Adjust please and now pull your two wheeler on the road and get your tyre fixed dear sir/madam).
