India - Bro is committed to you

Our shared taxi rides through the mountains of Sikkim turned out to be pretty hilarious events.  Our co-passengers would always be laughing and joking, and also turned out to be pretty informative about Sikkim (other than when they were sleeping such as in this photo to the left).  We had a Bhutia co-passenger along with a Tibetan co-passenger - both told us about how Sikkim became part of India - their story, though, does not match with what we've heard from others.  I'll need to dig into this a little bit more.

We also had traffic safety signs, environmental conservation signs and army signs competing for attention along all the roads.  As an exercise, we wrote down the signs we saw on the way from Gangtok to Changu, in the order we saw them. We learnt a little bit from these signs:

• Bro is committed to you
• Life is short, don't make it shorter
• Blow horn
• Gentlmen ply, they don't fly
• If you're married, divorce speed
• Good luck
• Bro - Flag bearer of prosperity and civilisation
• Caution - narrow road ahead - drive carefully
• Thanks
• Green Sikkim, Clean Sikkim
• Do not destroy life of the flowers
• Be late, don't be Mr. late
• Bro men cut through the hills but join through the heart
• Just wait
• Faster will see disaster
• Slide area - drive slow
• Gati badana, jeevan ghatana (Increase spped, decrease life)
• Rough area - drive carefully
• A person without children would face an uncertain future, a country without trees would have a similar fate
• Wild life need (sic) your care and concern
• Horn bajao, sabko bachao (Blow your horn, save everyone)
• Mushkil vakht, Gorkha sakht (In difficult times, the Gorkhas stand fast)
• Haste raho, khush raho (Keep laughing, keep happy)
• Om
• Horan (sic) please
• Drive with care - make accident rare
• Bro works to bring people of remote to mainstream
• Accident prone area - drive slowly
• Bro never looks back
• Be gentle on my curves
• No hurry, no werry (sic)
• When going gets tough, Gorkha gets going
• Palestine 1917-1918
• Har din, ek tarakki (Every day, make progress)
• Tuiturm 1943
• Iraq 1916
• Think green
• Pegu 1945
• Defence of Meikhotila 1945
• Sinking area - drive slow
• Hosla buland
• Live according to nature
• This is highway, not runway
• Avalanche area, drive carefully
• Wish you safe journey
• Bro is always in service to our nation - from Kanchenjunga to Kanyakumari we are one nation!
• Drive with care, make accident area (sic)
• Snow clad mountains, searing deserts, bro is seen everywhere
• Niyantrit chaal, chaalak khushhaal (Controlled driving makes a happy driver)
• Three enemies of road - liquor, speed and overload
• You are at 12000 feet
• Bro welcomes you to Tsomgo lake
• Nature is the universal language
• Bro - master of the mountains
• No photography
• We cannot command nature, except by obeying here (sic)
• Always accept unexpected
• The value of biodiversity is more than the sum of its parts
• Skill x Will x Drill = Kill
• First Black Cat Ghatak Camp welcomes you

First of all, what do you think Bro is?  Is it Big Brother from George Orwell's novel '1984'? Or is it something else?  Scroll below to find out

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Bro is the Border Roads Organization!  It builds and maintains roads in Sikkim.  Needless to say, we were quite bemused by these signs until we figured out who Bro was!

From the signs, we also gleaned that there must be a huge group of people in the traffic police organization who sit and churn out traffic safety phrases such as "Be late, don't be Mr. Late" everyday!

All the army signs also were interesting.  The Brits sent a huge wave of Indian army battalions into World War II, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. This is why all these signs exist along the side of the road.  Iraq. Palestine. etc.  Given the sensitive nature of this region (border with China), there are several defense establishments in Sikkim.

The border with Tibet also was interesting.  Apparently, tourists from both sides come there to shake hands with the army of the other side.  Also, we're told, the Chinese armymen are much smaller than the Indian armymen - before you think that this is because of nutrition or something, think again.  We are told that this is because the Chinese army is a conscript army and 16 year-olds are sent to this border, whereas the Indian army is a volunteer army and 25-30 years old man the border here.

-Dev

Comments

[Kerry Little]

Hi, I'm after photos of the Bro road signs. In particular, Drinking Whisky, Driving Risky, Go gentle on my curves, or At Bro, Men Cut through the Hills but Join the Hearts. Actually, any pics as when I was there last year I didn't take any.
I'm writing a travel yarn about them. If pics received and used, then a credit to photog, no money unfortunately but I will give a donation to charity in Sikkim. I'm going back there in April.

Best
Kerry Little

[Kamalini]

I came across BRO too! In the North East of India on the road between Imphal (Manipur) to Kohima (Nagaland)!! "This is not a rally! It pays to tally!!"
"This is not a rally or race! So drive at slow pace!!"
Mama