Crash

It’s surprising that I’ve been here this long and have only just experienced my first accident. WAIT! Let me rephrase that: I did not experience an accident at all. But I did witness one, and it was something of an experience.

There was a red motorbike, and the driver of that bike was trying to do a little U-Turn in the middle of a relatively quiet side street in Aluva. He had lots of room and lots of time; no one was coming…

…except, that is, for the black motorbike, which was coming way too fast down that relatively quiet side street. And the driver of that motorbike must have been blind. That is the only explanation! I mean, the other motorbike was bright red, and it was in the middle of the road. You couldn’t have missed it. Well, I suppose that black motorbike didn’t miss it, after all, huh?

The black motorbike just BANG! crashed into the red motorbike. As a mirror from the black motorbike went flying, the red motorbike fell to the ground with a thud. Somehow the driver managed to land on his feet. Nobody was seriously injured.

And nobody was seriously interested either. A few men who’d just been standing around went into the road to help the two men move their bikes out of the center, but most people just walked on like nothing had happened. And I walked on too, trying to blend in with the other non-onlookers but wishing I could stop and stare for just a moment.

I did sneak a few glances when I walked back by the site just a few minutes later. But by that point, this accident was old news because there was surely another one happening somewhere else in town. The way they drive, I’m surprised the population in India is as high as it is. Then again, if they all know how to land on their feet…