The 'Honking' Disease !

Recently the newspaper Lokmat ran a campaign called HBKB - Horn Bajane Ki Beemari - to create awareness about the ill-effects of excessive honking on the roads. They created a teaser campaign wherein they put up posters asking if people had heard of the HBKB disease. That really piqued people's interest. I think it was a fabulous teaser :)

I can't talk enough about people's incessant honking on the roads. There are types and types of honking (and horns, but more about that some other time) and consequently 'honkers'. Sample a few -

The Worry Wart - S/he constantly worries about which vehicle is going to hit them next. They have an anxious expression and keep darting looks to the left and to the right to protect themselves from all others in the traffic. They honk in short spurts at equal intervals for the entire length of time they are driving. Methinks instead of being scared / annoyed and keeping away from them, somebody in the traffic (don't look at me!) might actually be tempted to purposefully ram into them to put a permanent end to their honking.

The My-A$$-Is-On-Fire Driver - This is the person who's always running late. They drive like race car drivers. You have to admire their courage and their ability to go zigzag in bumper to bumper traffic. This navigation is aided by their honking. It seems as if the horn on their vehicle sings a full-fledged 3-minute film song before pausing for breath, only to begin another number. I don't wish them ill...(wicked grin) their actions will bring doom to them !

The Attention Seeker / 'Shiner' / Communicator - Ahhh youth...and their follies ! Typically this is a college-goer. S/he (I am using 's/he' only to be impartial, but truth be told, this category usually belongs to the males of the species) thinks that the horn on their two-wheeler is an all-in-one magic device that can be used to get everybody else to look at you (even if it is with disgust) AND to establish one's coolness AND to communicate to one's friends how a) everybody is looking at them and b) how cool they are. They have signature honking styles - tat-ta-taa-tataaa-tataaa or taaaaa-tataaa-tat-ta-taaaa or some such equally annoying phrase.

I'm sure you have encountered such and other 'honkers' and this is quite a sufficient sample to have you clenching your teeth in the memory :)

In addition to this campaign, I have  suggestions for a few more campaigns:


TGMGSAK - Teri Gaadi Meri Gaadi Se Aage Kaise - The Competitive Driver


RKTBKH - Rasta Kya Tere Baap Ka Hai - Its-never-my-mistake Driver


NTSD-NMSD - Na Tune Signal Dekha Na Maine Signal Dekha - The no-harm-done-we-both-erred-let's-forget-it Driver


RJNTKSP - Ruk Jaana Nahi Tu Kisi Signal Pe - I-am-the-President-of-the-Universe-and-have-a-perpetual-right-of-way-red-signal-or-no-red-signal Driver


So, all you newspapers, who's going to take up one or more of these ? Remember to give me credit...royalty, at least !