India, April 22 -- By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam

I drove a reasonably sensible car. I followed lane discipline, stopped at red lights and always used indicators at turns. This made me a minority community on Mysuru roads. Not a protected one, unfortunately.

Every morning, I navigated the seven kilometres from home to office. It took between thirty minutes and a small emotional crisis, depending on the day. I had learned to budget for both.

The red light was where philosophical differences first became visible. The signal turned red and I stopped. The driver behind me did not understand why I had done this. He honked. Once, then again with feeling. A third time with existential urgency, as though the light turning green depended on the volu...