Kaberi Dutta ChatterjeeDirector, KAA Media · Narrative Architect | Director, KAA Media Inc.

Kolkata vlog 2017-18: Autorickshaw roller coaster ride

8 Dec 2017 · 3 min

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3:08

Two riders navigate Kolkata's autorickshaw traffic, where drivers squeeze through impossibly narrow gaps and coordinate without rules or lane discipline. Speaker A calls it an "intelligent map network" that runs on pure instinct, comparing the ride to a roller coaster without seat belts.

Chapters

This is the long Kalibu auto ride across Calcutta. So ready for the roller coaster? Watch as it goes. I think people here work on instinct. It's like playing cricket. It's more like It's like playing cricket. So it's— there's no rules, but nobody hits anybody. Nobody hits anybody. So it's like everybody is very considerate of the other person. They just know by instinct which car will go where. It's a very intelligent map network that operates in Calcutta. You can see the traffic. Very intelligent traffic network.
Truly intelligent.
No system has to control it; it's just controlled by its own.
Can you see?
Oh my God! Space, this small gap he's going through. Look at the gaps, gaps he's taking, and he's quite confident that it's going to fit into this gap. Oh my God! Yesterday our auto was hit a little bit, and then it went on its way. Nobody bothered. Nobody blinked an eye. Look at, look at how he's maneuvered the auto. There are no rules. There is one lane, but, uh, yeah, but see, there is nobody who's following the lanes as such. Going on an autorickshaw is like taking a roller coaster ride live without any seat belts.