klaxons and couth

No, seriously now, about those horns and their use. C'mon folks, do you really need to blow your horn, sound your klaxon, shatter the stillness of a quiet suburban evening, just to let your household subservient know that you are on your way, from three streets away, and that the gate had better be open, because if it isn't you are going to... BLAAAAT anyway? Couldn't you like text them or something? Or here's an idea, why not just get out of the car and open the damn gate yourself? Or, if that's like beneath you, or something, maybe you could get one of those electronic gate opener thingies. That way you can play with the buttons as you are driving up, quietly. I mean think of the fun you'll have trying to time the gate opening so that you don't even have to slow down as you swoop into your portico, applying your brakes at the last second, sounding that oh-so-soul-satisfying chirps, quiet, localized chirps, of a well executed 007 bit of driving. Tres chic. You'll be the talk of the neighborhood, attracting admiring glances from flora and possibly even a fauna or two.

And, as long as the subject has come up, and because I was reminded of it last night, again, by the gentleman who works some very long hours, returning late at night from his labors, one presumes, who carefully, and quite unnecessarily, blows his (again, presumption) horn at every intersecting corner, as he pac-man's his way through the blocks of our housing colony, uncaring that the concrete towers of said colony form canyon worthy echo and amplification chambers. Yes, I’m talking about you, and this will probably come as news to you, the horn is not a safety feature of your vehicle. It serves no function in your well intention-ed attempts to prevent a cross-road collision. Actually opening your eyes and paying attention to your surroundings - and see there, isn't that silence blissful? - makes you a far better, safer, and perhaps most importantly, thoughtful driver. Besides, you and I both know that if there was another vehicle coming around the blind corner, chances are that he is talking on his cell phone and wouldn't have heard your klaxon anyway.

So what do you say? Give us enjoying-the-oh-so-brief-silences-of Urban India codgers a break, can you please? The god of Peace and Quiet, (a small humble god who finds his/her/its existence lost in the cacophony of ... well, you know) will bless you. Not much of a blessing, I grant you. Perhaps no more than a gentle moment in your hectic life, but still...