Jhansi, 10.vii.2009; pict. M. Tailly
| Nederlands | Path: Home / Country list / Children's Crossing Signs / in India |
I wonder if they wake-up too late, or if they must help too much in the house-hold before leaving for school. Or is it that they simply love their teachers so much?
The children are alone.
This is rather peculiar because children
on their own tend to play (e.g. Canada) instead of running to school (e.g. Argentina).
The rectangular specimens often carry a warning triangle on top. This is a primitive characteristic from past times when the open triangle meant danger. The kind of hazard was then specified on the rectangle mounted below the triangle. We have similar survivors from Mauritius, Trinidad & Tobago, Zanzibar and a really nice one from Great Britain.
This girl has a much more adult build than the one higher-up. She's walking not running, which makes this probably the only Indian roadsign where the person is not in a hurry.
The boy on this sign is barefoot.
At first sight one would think that this is the common running boy. But then the bookbag is much bigger than usual. And look at the head. This is more like a man with a moustache. A one handed police officer chasing some misfit?
He is in a hurry like most people on this page. But the sign stands out because of the detail in the drawing —he is wearing a shirt with short sleeves— and the satchel on his back. The other runners carry a purse or a book-bag and their movements are less elegant. This boy is almost like dancing.
Identical twins in an Indian hurry showing exceptional detail. The design is probably confined to a limited range. We have seen some more specimens all in the same neighbourhood.
A really nice sign full of detail. In my opinion the drawing could very well have been inspired by Tintin who allegedly has a huge fan base in the country.
The sign at hand shows people who to me seem several years older than the majority of the populace pictured on the roadside. The design seems confined to schoolbuses only. Another good drawing can be found on schoolbuses in Sri Lanka!
Another pair of grownups. They traded their backpack for a book bag and lost their feet in the process. Fortunately the rest of the drawing still shows a lot of detail. Notice that in the previous drawing the boys grabs the girl's wrist; here it's rather her elbow.
Let's hope that for many years to come no new sign
of this kind will come in. It would mean that India drops its diverse
autochtonous range for a characterless design which can be found
everywhere. Naturally, that is exactly what will happen.
(See also Argentina.)
