Bengaluru: The city’s infamous traffic gridlocks have long been a source of frustration for Bengalureans, but industrialist Anand Mahindra gave a humorous spin to the issue, striking a chord with many and sparking reactions online that reflected a mix of amusement and frustration.
“One advantage of Bengaluru traffic: Being stationary so often makes it like a live showroom. Everyone stuck in the traffic alongside you has plenty of time to see and examine the car,” Mahindra posted on X, referring to the extended time vehicles spend at a standstill on the city’s congested roads. Mahindra was driving his newly launched car at the time.
Mahindra was leaving the city on Wednesday after attending Invest Karnataka 2025. Earlier in the day, he had posted on his way to the summit: “Which car and which city am I in?”
At the investors’ meet on Tuesday, Mahindra had won over the audience while speaking of his extensive stays in Karnataka’s Kutta village, near Nagarhole, where his parents had established a coffee plantation in the late 1960s. “While I come here (to attend Invest Karnataka) as an investor, first and foremost, I’m just a Kodagu boy coming home,” he said.
According to Dutch geolocation technology firm TomTom, movement of vehicular traffic in Bengaluru was the third slowest in the world for the year 2024, and motorists took an average 34 minutes and 10 seconds to cover 10 km in Bengaluru, which was worse compared to the situation in 2023, when to cover the same distance, one would have taken 28 min and 10 sec.
Some users appreciated Mahindra’s positive outlook like @jasmeet, who posted, “Can’t help but admire this perspective on traffic.” Others used the opportunity to call for better urban planning and traffic management.
X user @eashish commented, “Thoughts are good, but the problem is we cannot be in a showroom for 365 days! After all, we should feel the adrenaline after driving at decent city/highway speeds.”
Another user, @harishkumar, quipped, “Bengaluru’s traffic: the ultimate test drive without moving an inch!” Not everyone was in a joking mood. @elaichi_chai pointed out, “Sir, there is no positive side to traffic jams. It is a pure failure of respective administrations!”