AS summer approaches, there is bound to be mention of the monkey menace in the hills. Monkeys get too friendly and familiar and enter houses. They are clever and know where to find food.

In a lot of cases monkeys don’t have to go foraging for food. The food comes to them. It is a common sight to see bread, bananas and other edibles being thrown out of car windows on N.H. 22. The other day I saw a car parked by the road, and a trunk full of bananas lying open beside it.

On the way back while coming down this road at about the same spot, I saw a baby monkey crushed to death. It was a bloody mangled mess because it had been run over by a heavy truck or bus. What was even more distressing and disturbing was the mother monkey sitting about a metre away and wailing in a very human-like way. Really pathetic. The mother was grieving for its baby.

Monkeys don’t have newspapers. But in case they did, an apt headline would be, "Beware! Human menace!"

The Do-Gooder who was making an offering to the monkey-God Hanuman in the morning, sure turned out to be a paapi (sinner) by the afternoon!

All our ancient scriptures and texts teach us that "thoughtless action" should be avoided. In the above case, the pros and cons of the action was not taken into consideration. Therefore, a simple religious offering became a sacrifice — an unnecessary sacrifice.

Monkeys are fast learners. They wait on the side of the road to be fed, as they bask in the sun and preen themselves.

If you — the motorist on N.H. 22 — stop feeding the monkeys, they will get the message by the end of summer. They will realise that the source of food has dried up and they will move back to their natural habitat and normal feeding patterns.

Monkeys are used to their sources drying up — both food and water. This is why they migrate. This highway is a perennial source of food and water. You can do something — stop feeding the monkeys and make a useful contribution to the monkey society.

Monkeys on the road can also cause serious accidents. A driver who swerves his vehicle to avoid hitting a monkey on the road can have a collusion with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction or one overtaking from behind. As far as possible, one should avoid swerving the vehicle.

There is yet another human menace — the pedestrians —a motorist should be wary of. Motorists would have noticed that pedestrians could be found anywhere any time and they are indisciplined. Without paying much heed to traffic, they cross roads, jump over barricades and climb through barbed fences. A herd of cows crossing the road is more disciplined and predictable. Animals also don’t have a reverse gear like humans. A pedestrian who has crossed three-quarters of a road and is almost safely close to the opposite pavement may suddenly decide that the pavement he left was a better and safer place. He or she or they may decide to return. Chaos can prevail. An animal, once he is crossing the road, follows his line, he won’t turn back. The motorist should slow down, possibly stop and allow the animal to pass. Don’t try and weave through a herd of animals. Don’t blow your horn. It may frighten the animals. An infuriated bull can charge at a car.

The same rules apply for the pedestrians. They are the slowest of road users, also the most indisciplined and dangerous. They have right of way — so what if they are making all the wrong moves. Hitting them won’t prove anything at all. All that will happen is that you will get embroiled in some lengthy irksome procedures that follow an accident.

Be patient, be polite. If necessary, stop, smile, wave to the people across the road. Say, ‘have a good day’ and drive on.

Happy motoring!