Of Driving

Last year, I had a lot of opportunity to drive down to Greater Noida from Noida. The newly constructed, 6-lane, expressway is aptly named. It does allow super speeds and is really a great way to commute. There are some pitfalls like some stray animals/cattle and the the danger of a pileup accident, like this winter when 14 vehicles rammed into one another due to heavy fog.

However, what I really enjoyed was not the speed one could achieve, but the luxuriant view that I had when I drove there. A commuter of modern cities does not get a chance to see a lot except buildings and a few trees here and there. But the expressway offers a scenic view at many places. One of reasons is that the expressway does not have crossings, and at places where the road does need a crossing, it has a sort of flyover. This creates a sinusoidal curve on the road and when on the crest, one gets fantastic views on both sides. One can see a huge thicket which is almost a jungle, 2 big rivers, endless fields, villages, city heights, roads big and small and of course the vast expanse of the azure sky. A treat certainly, and a lavish one at that.