Slight upheaval in life – I am joining a new job tomorrow – going to be working full time after many years – slow blogging this last one week since all my free time has been spent in getting myself out of the knots I have been tying myself into at thought of full time work. So here I am cheating just a little bit, reposting from my archives.
Dreaming of such long drives and holidays even before work has started… Happy Monday Morning!
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The Bombay – Goa highway NH 17 is a beautiful route – I expect it is breathtaking during the monsoons – it goes over innumerable small (and some quaint) bridges with streams and (potentially) rivers flowing underneath them – and over miles and miles of ghat roads… and if nature all around you is not enough to keep you occupied and enertained through this long drive, there are the road signs – surely the work of a super creative mind – longing for expression – within the roadways department.
They range from the simple – SPEED IS KILLING NOT THRILLING – to the more complicated LIVE AND LEFT LIVE (???)
And then there are more morbid ones – THIS IS A HIGH-WAY, NOT A DIE-WAY (gulp, I hope so) – certainly the product of a frusrated and overworked government official…
The cheerfully promising – TODAY IS MY ‘NO ACCIDENT’ DAY – what about tomorow then?
The signs in Marathi are much more strict and sermonising in tone – MOH TAALA, NIYAM PAALA which I assume means – Oh sinner, resist the temptation – to speed/crash/kill whatever – and follow the rules…
This one has an air of finality about it – JHOPLA TO SAMPLA – loosely translating into – fall alseep, and you are finished. After which sign, I kept glancing nervously at my husband every thirty seconds and kept pumping him with coffee to make sure he stayed bright and awake at the wheel…
And there is also – SAFETY ON ROAD IS SAFE TEA AT HOME – tea or coffee or whatever it takes, just stay awake and get me home safe… and CONTROL YOUR NERVES ON THE CURVES (is this a sexist road sign?)
Inscrutable oriental philosophy too finds expression in these roads – SENSE OF LIFE IS THE ESSENCE OF LIVING. duh?
And these are only a few that I remember now… Take it from me – this is one journey that promises entertainment all through, especially if you are not at the wheel! This drive was enroute Goa – we stopped at three different beaches on the way and never reached Goa. Expect post on this very soon with pictures.
And can you think of any amusing road signs you have come across?
Charu,
Good luck with your new job!
Here’s a road sign that I see in Bangalore: “Reach home in peace, not in pieces.”
All the best for your new job. Are we going to see less and less of you?
Sujatha, thanks! need all the luck I can get π
Kaps, I hope not.. though I suspect blogging will slow down – atleast initially…
I once saw a road sign on my way to Ahmednagar.
” Cats may have nine lives but you have got just one “
don’t know if you saw this post on roadsigns on Sepia…
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002255.html
Have fun in your new job….
LOL! Loved the signs. Believe me these are not written by overworked government officials but fresh fresh, new copywriters with five days of experience behind them. I have been guilty of the same. I remember the similar line I wrote a long long time back: “It’s better to be Mr Late than be Late Mr…”
π
~ Arun
Here is one of Ponnappa’s cartoons in ToI’s Bangalore edition from a long time ago:
You see two people from behind them; one of them is driving his car. Through the windshield, you also see a sign. It reads:
“Caution: Road Ahead”.
Wish you all the best in your new job.
Akshay, my fav one from Bangalore – “you have only one head – wear a helmet”!
Sunil, hadn’t seen it – will do now…
Arun, can absolutely believe that copy-writers come up with such inane stuff π
Abi, road ahead! π bombay has been that way since the rains! and thanks for the wishes
Hi Charu
Best of luck in your new job.
Hi
Congrats on your job !! So where are you joining?
GG
Michael, Gautam, thanks π
I remember “Good driver we proud of you” and the ultimate – “Manavar brake, uttam brake” Another surprisingly good one was “Road safety is no accident”, though that wasn’t on NH-17. On that particular highway though, the Maharashtra signs are the best. Goa is okay and then in Karnataka and Kerela they are totally prosaic and joyless.