Auto Expo 2010 was held in Delhi. Every Indian knows that Pragati Maidan is the venue of an event of this kind in Delhi. Every Delhiite knows that such an event throws traffic out of gear, disrupts the already unreliable public tranport, and turns a stressed out city into a chaotic traffic island. Cars fight duels at traffic intersections with their bonnets, each driver trying to gain an extra inch of road space. The winner gets to breathe the exhaust of the car in the front without any dilution by fresh air. Scooters and bikes clamber onto the pavements and the pedestrians walk on dividers betwen the lanes. The traffic policemen take control of the major intersections where they flail their arms and blow their whistles. They can do with the much needed exercise but certainly not at the overly polluted traffic intersections. Hawkers sell magazines, dusters, peanuts and sundry other trifles. Beggars continue with business as usual.

A new scenario in which traffic doesn’t pile up, the Metro doesn’t get over-crowded with the people going to Pragati Maidan and I don’t spend four hours on the road is possible. If we had these events not just in Pragati Maidan but at other spots in different corners of the city. Dwarka and Rohini could be prime contenders for this. Imagine, smooth traffic while the Auto Expo goes on. Someday, for sure.