The first thing I notice when I come to Kolkata from San Francisco is not the heat. Or the smog. But the noise. A survey a couple of years ago found that at 10 major crossings the horn count average per day was a whopping 107392 per day, that’s over 70 honks per minute. Cars and buses loudly flout No Horn signs around hospitals and schools.
Some drivers are honking because a pedestrian, or a cow is jaywalking, or another car is turning without a signal or just because.
Why is Kolkata so loud?