I have seen poverty in India like in no other country that I visited so far. Every year, millions of people migrate from the country side to approximately 200 cities around the continent. Their main goal is to make few extra Rupees per week so they can feed their kids and send them to better schools, ensuring a better life. In India, the public schools (fee based) are in such bad shape that most families try to send their kids to private schools. With the influx of millions of people, urban problems seem too much to handle for any country. Shanty towns can be seen everywhere. I saw makeshift cardboard homes build against the high walls that protect expensive villas. There are entire families living in these dwellings with no running water, electricity (unless stolen) or sewer. I have even seen goats tied to the doors of these makeshift dwellings. With this many people packed into a small area come the traffic problems.
The traffic rule in India is that there are no rules. It is the "wild wild east" attitude that prevails among thousands of cars, bikes, motorbikes, rickshaws, elephants and humans who share the road. In India you can expect the unexpected; like a motorbike driving towards you on the wrong side of the road or an old guy in turban stopping in the middle of a busy road to look at a building.

One of the first things that you notice is the amount of horn honking. It is a constant background noise that never stops. I once tried to count the number of times my driver honked the horn during the ride between my hotel and the office which is 30 minutes away. By the time we reached the corner, of the street where my hotel was located, I was up to 16. I gave up. In fact, in India you are expected to honk the horn as a part of your defensive driving strategy. You see trucks and cars with the writing painted in the back that states "Please Honk."

Tomorrow, I will write about the ugly side of India. Stay tuned