A Cough Worse Than in Mexico City – My Experience in Delhi

Before my program in Jamkhed started, I had the opportunity to spend five days in Delhi, the capital of India and one of its largest cities both by population and size. A couple thoughts…

Traffic/Road Safety: Never have I seen such madness on roads as I saw in Delhi. A three lane street would be filled with at least six lanes of cars with every open nook in between filled by motorcyclists, cows, rickshaws or taxi drivers who have gotten out of their cars for a quick pee. With cars going in three different directions on the same side of the road the only thing you can hear are car horns beeping with different ‘horn tunes’, used since many drivers don’t have side-view mirrors and thereby don’t know you are next to them. I was shocked and thrilled every time I got into a car or rickshaw, literally like a rollercoaster ride.

As a tourist, I viewed the traffic and labeled it a part of Indian culture. This mess of the roads wasn’t a problem but it was rather their way of life. The problem, though, is that on average in Delhi, 3 people are killed per day and more injured on the roads. Without a police force monitoring the accidents or any sort of enforcement or accountability, the larger vehicle is placed at the blame, yet with 60% of the vehicles on the road being motorcycles it is often the opposite.

This is what brought IRTE (the Institute for Road Traffic Education) into the picture and on the third day in Delhi I had the opportunity to spend the day with Rohit Baluja, its founder and president. He started the Indian non-profit in 1991 (he is also in the shoe business) and in the past 17 years has seemingly done more for road safety in Delhi than the city government. The Ministry of Transportation, he says, views the auto industry as profit-making and thus spends no time or money investing in their roads and/or drivers, the lifeblood of Indian businesses. And no new law has been passed since the late 1980’s to involve bicyclists or pedestrians in the transportation act. Through training courses (for elementary students, government officials, policemen, and others), speed-monitoring vehicles (an incredible vehicle called the CrashLab was invented by IRTE that can record and analyze vehicle accidents), national and international conferences, meetings with government officials, and a future public health department, awareness that safety on the roads is important is becoming recognized. It is also highly needed.

The Sites: Two of my days in Delhi were spent visiting the incredible monuments and sites that have been preserved for hundreds and even thousands of years. The pride Indian’s have for their country is so transparent in every tour and conversation, and visiting the sites I have read about has shown me why.

While I was touring, I was able to meet many fellow travelers from other countries and we immediately formed a bond, regardless of where we were from. In such a drastically different country as is India, I have found that many travelers bond together for support, which was a really nice part of my stay and I met some great people.


At India Gate I made the mistake of giving a beggar 40 rupees (around $1), as I was then followed around by 4 other beggars for the rest of my 20 minutes there. I literally had a line of beggars following me and people would stop, look and laugh at my misfortune.

Spirituality: A different smell was certainly ever-present in Delhi but so was a feeling of deep spirituality, as so many different religions, temples and people are crowded into the same place. Even greater, these beliefs are literally worn on the faces of the people and illustrated through their clothing. I visited Mosques, Hindu temples, B’nai Temples (awesome faith, fyi), churches, and even ate breakfast with Hare Kirshna’s in their temple. Faith is so present in daily life as it’s needed just to get by in a very difficult city.

On Friday, I flew from Delhi to Pune where I took a 4 hour ride to Jamkhed, which is where I will be for the next 11 months. As a side note, I think I have a permanent cough now due to the dust, pollution and heat. I also love eating with my hands (or rather, right hand), God’s natural forks. And I have photos but the internet connection isn't fast enough here to allow me to post them so I'll have to wait until I get to Pune or Mumbai.

So far so good. Loving India and this incredible opportunity. Feel free to write back or ask questions.

Jeff