The Art of Walking

 

The Art of Walking

It appears to be fading away, the art of walking.

Bipedal motion and larger brains (as compared to from whom they evolved) are supposedly the top two features of Hominids.  It makes me very sad that the species Homo sapiens sapiens is on the way to losing the first, and possibly the second too. While ChatGPT could account for the second, the first one may not have been so obvious and precipitous, and hence may not be easily recognized.

Explain why you are sad, I hear you say, showing much empathy. I will. We understand anthropology with respect to humans such as balance, walking, speech and a few other things as part of the long process of evolution–Darwinian or Lamarckism it does not matter–that set us apart from our ancestors. Losing even one of them could drive us back to our ancestors, even if only gradually but nowhere near as gradually as they were built-up.

Some of you might say that is not so bad after all. Well, I am not in that crowd. I like to think evolution is a one-way street, leading to more and more complexities. I have no proof, just a gut feeling.

Pedestrians are not recognized on the streets, even at the edges. If you are an owner of a two-wheeler, the first thing you do is to copy how cats mark off their territory.

Just to make sure you are with me on this:

Urine marking: Cats may urinate in an area to communicate their presence, their status rank, or their reproductive status. Urine marking can also help cats feel safe and secure.

Precisely.  

Two-wheelers have marked off their territory.  “I have a Royal Enfield Bullet; you know it cost me upwards of two lakhs!” The most extreme encroachment is the footpath, and if there are no footpaths, the extremes of roads/streets, especially on the wrong side of the road. Here pedestrians cannot even anticipate such fencing off. Footpaths are also game for two-wheelers, I have seen, the inveterate walker that I am.

To be fair, I need to finger my cohort pedestrians who contribute to their own extinction. In the town I live in, Srirangam, pedestrians walk on the “wrong side” of the road, when they are not walking in the middle of the carriageway.

When the vehicle is “Right Handed Drive” it plies on the left side of the road (looking in the direction of motion), which leaves the driver, sitting on the right side of the car close to the centreline. Therefore, if pedestrians wish to be aware of potential dangers from oncoming vehicles, they must walk on the right side of the road; applies only if there are un-breached sidewalks on both sides, also called platforms for pedestrians. If my writing does not make clear what I say, refer to the sketch below.

 If they walked on the left side of the road, they will be aware of the vehicle only after it hits them or passes them too close for comfort. I am saying this so elaborately because I have so many students of mine, brainwashed by who I have no idea, give me the more dangerous answer – walking on the left edge! The need for a lesson on road sense?

OK, it is time to get back to talking about vehicles. I am deaf in my left ear. With this condition, no one can figure out the source of any sound, much less in the cacophony obtained in Indian roads/streets. I have had riders cursing at me for NOT MOVING AWAY in response to their loud honking. One fellow, in a black SUV stopped and asked me loudly, “Are you deaf?” I answered equally loudly, “YES!” To his credit, he apologized and drove away. Yet, I do not think he took away any lasting lesson from the incidence. He might need to be reminded soon enough, if not by me but someone equally handicapped. Blind people are visible to a few drivers but the deaf, even partially, are not.

I now come to busy roads in a mixed-zone, commercial and residential area. I am all for it and I hate the so-called gated communities, creating for themselves compartmentalized life, and experiencing severe social isolation without being aware of it.

I know what I am talking about as I live on the street that leads to the railway station and the street is gloriously chaotic when a train downloads its passengers to this devotional touristy town. The residents on such roads live among humanity, what with its chaos; and opportunities too. Yes, that chaos also leads to delays, nothing as unbearable as standing in the snaking line for getting a brief a look-see at the deity and walk away. Almost as bad as in Tirupati.

Pedestrians are not immune to chaos. They learn to not just bear, but live with it, while gorging themselves on the idiosyncrasies of their fellow human beings. If you are not a pedestrian, especially if you are cocooned in your air-conditioned car, you are missing a great part of being a human. There is no way you can connect with your thousands of years old forebears. They walked and in the process they begat you. You are driving and who are you going to beget? Clones of yourselves. No pedestrians to maim, kill, create orphans...

Now, to parking. The more you encroach the roadway, the higher is your status. There is a four lane road which has segments of about 100 to 150 meters that are only two-laned on as the road weaves through some really old properties unlikely to be taken over for road widening because of power relations.

It is here, one would park his car. He wants to save that distance and time, two minutes at the most. Even government tourism department buses of Andhra, Karnataka, and of course Tamil Nadu give no thoughts to the plight of pedestrians. In my walks, I have to kind of paste and slide myself to the side of the car, the tourist bus, or even the traffic on the opposite direction to save myself. It is sheer arrogance. And, there would be no comeuppance for them. God is their attorney.

Although I am sure I have not poured forth all my grievances, I will end here.

Given the above, would you be surprised if we went back to our old savannah days of exclusive bipedal walking, just to survive? Even to your neighbour’s home? Be afraid to step out of your residence, if it is spared from demolition for road building? The only way for the species Homo sapiens sapiens to survive.

Raghuram Ekambaram