Isn’t it surprising that Japan and Germany are the leading automobile manufacturer in the world, Scandinavian countries are also highly industrialized and have very high per capita income, even our neighbour China has fastest growing economy, but people of these countries still prefer a simple life and paddling bicycle for their short distance travelling and even for going to their work?
In India we annually import oil worth billions of dollars and hardly manufacture any car or motorcycle, without a foreign collaborator, the bicycle is now being considered by society as a degraded means of transport. What a contrast!
Now it is barely seen as a means of transport even in villages and small towns, what to say about cities. These days even newspaper hawkers, milkmen, postmen, college students, etc. who would use bicycles for their jobs have switched over to motorcycles. Does this scenario showcase our prosperity and the economic stability of country?
I think austerity and a simple lifestyle can provide solution to some of our socio-economic ills. Additionally, it is a good exercise to stay fit and healthy, as one hour bicycling one can burn up to 400 -500 calories.