Footpaths in namma Bengalooru is for street-vendors!!!

The other day, I had to go to Avenue road (Gosh, I hate that place from the bottom of my heart and wished/hoped/prayed that I would never have to step into the road ever again). As usual, I got my tiny scooty out and set out with mom to Subas store, the place where I could find any academic book that I want…!!!

It was a different matter that the dude at the stop stared blankly at the sheet of paper having the book name. But what irritated me most and somehow always gets to me here is the absolute lack of some civic sense among people…!!!

The vendors have their wares on display all along the footpath, these ranges from had-made wooden toys from Channpatna to cheap plastic imitations from China. Oh, loved this thing I read on MTV (I read the Tickr everyday and THAT is how jobless I am!!!)…. So what if China won 51 gold at Beijing, the medals are still “Made in China”!!!

Oops… there I digress again!!! Haan, so, the footpaths are all taken by these guys who are selling their stuff… And this Chinese stuff is sooooooooo inexpensive, that each fella has atleast 5 of them eager to buy his goods…!! As a result of this, the footpath looks horrendously crowded….!!! And so what does the rest of the bunch do?? They parade down the streets like it is a ramp and they are supermodels…!!! Needles to say, they are oblivious to the incessant honking of the numerous two-wheelers that fight desperately for space in a road laid out for their riding… And of course, add to that some 10-15 men pulling huge carts and what you see is a mess….!!! A mess that would make headlines if featured on a Discovery channel show (esp if it is hosted by a foreigner with a skewed outlook of India)…

My point is how long to allow this to happen??? Thankfully, someone has taken notice… I watched news the other day and a small group of youngsters have taken the initiative to educate people here to use the footpath instead of the roads…!! Kudos to them!!! High time we re-learnt some things taught in kindergarten!! Like... Always walk on the footpath…. (could probably add “Red=stop; amber=get ready; green=go” to the list)!!!!