Mumbai musings - 2... Roads and roller coasters...

The commute from my hotel to my work place was about an hours drive covering a distance of approx 12 miles. After the incessant rains and floods in Mumbai, the commuters in Mumbai have been blessed with free roller coaster rides as soon as they get on their vehicles. Not knowing this during my first ride to work, I had a sumptuous breakfast in the morning and got into a cab without knowing what was in store for me.
The start was just perfect, just like a roller coaster climbing the first ramp for the nerve-racking ride ahead. As soon as the cab drove out of the hotel, the real ride started for the next 55 mins. Imagine a 55 mins long roller coaster ride with short breaks of relief in between. Whatever I ate for breakfast was in my throat in the first 10 mins of my journey. I still could not fathom how I managed the rest of the journey with my body and internal organs being thrown from one corner to the other and up and down.
I visited my hometown of Chennai in southern India couple of months back and was complaining about the conditions of roads there. After this ride in Mumbai, I imagined how lucky people from Chennai are. I am not sure if the people here take this as a sport but surprisingly, I did not find many people complaining about it. The traffic itself is another nightmare where you put your life in other peoples hands as soon as you get on your car. One thing I did realize here was that, the lesser you travelled the roads in Mumbai, the longer your chances of survival are. God bless the Mumbaikars...