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The Illusion of Order: When 'Civilized' Means 'Sterilized'

 I remember my first visit to the United States over a decade ago. Landing from my small, bustling hometown of Meerut, India, I was instantly awestruck. The silence, the systematic flow of traffic, the lack of honking—it was a world engineered for flawless human convenience. Everything was neat, clean, and in order . For nearly a year, I was hypnotized. I praised this country for its efficiency, its cleanliness, and, notably, its lack of stray animals . Where were the dogs, the cows, the insects that are a normal part of life back home? The US, I thought, was truly a superior model of civilization. My clothes never even collected dust; it seemed the entire landscape was sterilized. But as the years passed, the hypnosis began to fade. I started asking a darker question: What is the price of this perfect order? The Cost of the Empty Road My initial praise for the US was based on what I didn't see: no stray animals, no swarming insects, no dust. I realized this absence wasn't a s...
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Modern Services, Outdated Hours: Can Flexible Timings Benefit Public Services and Traffic Congestions

 I am living in Chandigarh and my wife's driving license is due for renewal this month.

Just few months back I got my license renewed from Chandigarh Road Transport Office (RTO).

The working of Chandigarh RTO is exceptionally good. At least this is what I experienced when I got my license renewed.


With 10 minutes of walking in to the Chandigarh RTO office at Sector 17, I was out, this was the speed at which things happened.

Trust me I was expecting a long queue and lot of people wandering around asking for questions or stationery.

Amazingly, the fully air-conditioned Chandigarh RTO office had roughly 10 - 15 people in total, when I was there.

I had already applied for the license renewal online, and the only thing needed to be done at the RTO office was the photo click and some signatures.

The first checkpoint at the Chandigarh RTO was the license renewal window where they cross checked the details that I had filled in the form with the physical documents. 

It hardly took 2 - 3 minutes and the person sitting there asked me to go to the room where the photograph is being clicked.

Just one person was ahead of me as I walked in the photo taking room. There I signed the photo and another 2 - 3 minutes were spend there.

I took the documents back to the same window of license renewal and after few clicks and cross-checking, the person said to me that my license will reach me in few days.

Things happened so smoothly and without hassle that I was shocked a little, and was wondering if things are done.

For two minutes I kept sitting there, just to make sure that the the license renewal procedure is actually complete.

This experience was complete different from the experience I had when I got my driving license for the first time.

There is one problem here; the timing of Chandigarh RTO coincides completely with normal working hours.

I am sure there are people who had to take short leave from office to get to the RTO to get the paper work done.

If only they can shift the working hours one hour before or one hour after than it will be easy for working people to reach out to them.

For example, they make their timings from 8 am to 3 pm or from 12 pm to 7 pm, this way ordinary working service people will be able to reach them easily.

I am sure this change of timing will also be accepted by government employees, for they will be able to take care of their important work that they have in private organization with this time difference.

Although, for a person, license renewal is done only once in 10 or 15 years. Still, there are numerous people who may agree with me on this change of timing.

As a matter of fact all the government departments that have direct public dealing should bring this change in their system.

Few days back I faced this same problem of timing when I had to submit some rent at the estate office of Chandigarh.

A lot has been done already to make the process smooth and efficient. If this factor is also taken care of then I am sure it will be appreciated by everyone.

 I started to write this article to discuss a situation and as I am about to complete it, one more thought has sprung up in my mind.

Thing is, with this difference in timing between private and government organizations, if implemented will also reduce traffic congestion.

This method can be implemented nationwide and much of the problem of traffic congestion can be solved.

Imagine a scenario in Delhi, a place that is struggling to make sense out the several kilometers and many hour long traffic congestions.

If only the working hours of the government and private employees are changed, I am sure a lot of room will be created on the roads and elsewhere.

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Location: 139, Jan Marg, 35A, Sector 35, Chandigarh, 160035, India

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