The typical Indian bus resembles scrap. It is made of metal sheets, generously dented, perhaps a metre wide. The sheets are joined one to another by rivets, and this leaves a visible seam – covered and reinforced, in places, by a dull-silver strip.

It has rectangular openings positioned along its sides. The openings resemble windows, but cannot be shut. Three horizontal bars, or two or one, dissect the openings, and appear to serve an only incidental purpose: the bus gets enormously full, so full that people clutch and ride its bloated sides, using the bars as convenient handles.

It is chronically overused. The dull-silver strips spring away from its sides and protrude at sharp, bent-metal angles, making the vehicle look as if it is, quite literally, bursting at the seams. (Read on …)