World's Best Video Game

Two of my greatest interests are video games and golf.  Both have obstacles and challenges.  This is probably why I love driving in Chennai traffic.  The challenges are immense and there are more obstacles than in a video game. 

This is a photo of Oragadam with similar obstacles & challenges. Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

Yesterday, we had driven to Mogappiar West.  10 years ago, this place did not exist on the map.  There was probably no Pin Code or post office.  There were a few industrial complexes, that polluted the neighborhood, but nothing else. Now it is a sprawling suburb with Malls, grocery stores and restaurant.  It even has a 6 lane elevated expressway cutting right through this Pin Code.  That is where the similarity between this and any Chinese suburb ends.  Once you get off the road, there are simple cut outs that act as roads.  Most are unpaved.  If paved, they have been completely demolished by the school buses and water lorries (trucks). 

This was the highest water point.  At other places it was 2 ft.  Courtesy: The Hindu

During our visit, there was a massive downpour.  We were driving through fast and furious rivers with tar cutouts cutting into the bumpers.  We had to stay away from the trucks that were splashing the water like elephants enjoying a shower at a waterhole. Of course there were cars, bicycles, motor cycles, autos (three wheel motored vehicles), pedestrians, cows, cute goats and every other form of live creatures.  Not to be let down, the adjoining trees were weaving their branches in and out of the road.

Having played motor sports on every video gaming system including Atari, Commodore, arcade, Xbox, Wii and PSP.  I still have not seen anything come even close to this experience.  And the best part is that it is not simulated.  You actually feel the road jerks, the wind blowing, the truck splashing and road rage.  Unlike the US, there is probably no one walking around with a gun.  So, you are safe to shout back. 

Never seen this in any Video Game. Let us see if today's teenagers can handle this. Courtesy: The Hindu

A game designer would get so many ideas out of this single journey than all his imagination can ever provide.