Beijing-born China Daily photographer Du Lianyi thinks that cars stuck in traffic in China's capital are a nightmare but woke up to the harsh reality of Indian conditions on a recent trip. Ravi Shankar Narasimhan reports.

From New Delhi to Mumbai, cars and pedestrians jostle for whatever space there is - and are joined in this melee by bicycles, tricycles, auto rickshaws, pedal rickshaws, trucks and vans of various sizes, buses and, not to forget, animals. Cows are sacred to Hindus, who form the majority of the population, but the traffic free-for-all includes horses, camels and elephants. And then there is the crowd crush in the vehicles. A motorcycle easily carries a couple, a couple of kids and a maid. In cars, the back and even the roof are for seating. In buses, passengers hang on to window grills, the exits and the ladder at the rear. To add to these incredible sights is the sound: the cacophony of nonstop honking. Yet, traffic moves on, albeit very, very slowly; the traffic police seem indulgent; and the travelers appear happy. This is no country for road rage.

(China Daily 02/23/2014 page6)