We all have a love-hate relationship with something or someone, just like I have one with my sibling, my phone. In the same way, we all Jaipurites share a love-hate relationship with our city. Although we adore it in many ways, but there are situations that we have to face in Jaipur that can really try our patience. People residing here might seem to maintain the perfect balance between a fast life that people have in cities like Delhi, or a slow one in small towns like Ajmer, but there are moments in our moderately progressing metro city, when it looks as if you are stuck here.
So this weekend, when I was analyzing how I did not have to hear my friends cribbing about what they had to go through to go somewhere or get something, I decided to write on it so that when people read it the problem wouldn’t seem so daunting because as we all know, trouble shared is a trouble halved.
1. Getting stuck in the One-way traffic
People have to face traffic jams in almost every metropolitan city and same is the case with Jaipur. We’ve all gotten used to the traffic here in a way that it doesn’t bother us that much. But the traffic problem that is disconcerting in the city is the’ one way traffic’. The sign for it is usually put up at places like C-Scheme, MI Road, Ashoka Marg and many other streets. It causes high traffic flow, which affects the speed at which vehicles will move and in turn makes it difficult to reach destinations. We can’t go back and we can’t move forward and we just wish we were Batman.
2. The toll of the Toll Tax
Those who frequently travel from Ajmer to Jaipur or Delhi to Jaipur and vice versa know exactly what I’m talking about. You will come across 3-4 toll tax plazas and on top of that you have to wait in the queue. But waiting in the queue becomes frustrating when your line isn’t moving and the others are, so you decide to change your line and after difficult maneuvers when you get in another line, the one that you just left starts moving. Well, this is something that not only the Jaipurites face but so do all Indians. And if this isn’t enough, the guy sitting at the counter would either take too long to count or to find change that you would start considering the option of breaking the barricade in front of you and sped away.
3. The Auto Fares that are not Fair
For students and for those who do not have their own vehicle, the ‘Autowalas’ are their rescuer and renegade. You don’t have to wait for them like you would do for a cab or rush for them like you would do for a bus and that is the reason why they quote prices according to what suits them best. The people who are new to the city are the ones who are usually the victims. The Autowalas charge from 150-200 to take them to the Crystal Palm or MGF Malls from places that are only 7-8 kms away. I would advise the newcomers to take a cab instead of the Auto if they want to pay fairly and dislike bumpy rides that may give you cramps later.
4. No Parking everywhere
The ‘NO Parking’ incident has happened with a lot of people who are from the city and is dreadful for the ones who are not. You are in a hurry and with a lot of difficulty find a spot outside the mall and you check for the No Parking sign (because you’re scared of the big crane taking away your car or because you’ve already been through the ordeal). There is no such sign thankfully. But when you come to the spot where you had parked your car, it’s either gone or most probably it has been locked with a car stopper. And, of course the money minting officer is not going to listen to your ‘The No Parking Sign Was Not There’ statement, so you better empty your pockets if you want your car back.
5. To breathe or not to breathe (when you pass a sewer)
Thank God for the car windows, but for those who travel by local city buses or on two wheeler or are pedestrians and their way cuts across a bridge that is built over a big Nallah, like the Amanishah Nallah in Mansarovar, I pity them. The big uncovered sewers and the stink that they give off is just unbearable and makes you want to drive away from it as soon as possible. Not only do they want you to shut your eyes and look away because you feel bad about how they are a shame to such a beautiful city but also take your breath away!