WAYMO—A new word that is about to make its way into the everyday lexicon.
From technological advancement to political turbulence, uncertainty and anxiety grip Donald Trump's America—but signs of resilience suggest that American civilization may yet withstand the next four years of his boorishness.
WAYMO—A new word that is about to make its way into the everyday lexicon.
WAYMO is the name of a driverless taxi car.
Yes, a driverless car. A tribute to American technological genius.
It is beyond conventional comprehension to imagine a car programmed this way so that it can find its way across a busy city on its own.
The city is Los Angeles, home to Hollywood, and recently a hapless host to a raging fire; a town addicted to the unconventional and informality. For now, WAYMO is operational only in certain parts of Los Angeles.
To want to ride a WAYMO requires a certain courage, an appetite for excitement and a definite faith in the power of science, engineering and computer programming.
During a recent stay in the city, I found it difficult to persuade friends and relatives to take a WAYMO ride with me. Many promised to accompany me, but all chickened out—except one family friend.
My American family friend was required to download the WAYMO app. The app needed to be linked to his bank account. All done in ten minutes. And, summon the WAYMO taxi—just as one would call for an Uber ride in New Delhi or Los Angeles.
The driverless car, mostly white, is distinct for a rotating contraption on its top. It arrives at the precise pick-up location. Use the app to open the doors, step in—with trepidation and curiosity. Passengers are invited to strap on the seat-belts. And then, the car starts moving towards the desired destination.
A never-before experience of riding in a moving car without a human driver at the wheel. Nerves as well as fascination. Incredulously, you watch the driverless vehicle observing all the rules of the road, halting at four-way stop signs, signalling when turning or switching lanes, staying within the changing speed limit, and stopping at red lights. A small computer screen keeps informing you about the time left to get to your destination.
Nervous passengers are warned to keep away from the steering wheel, as the ‘driver’ is in control of the vehicle. Passengers have the option of listening to the music of their choice, monitoring the route the vehicle is taking, or finding out the temperature outside.
My American co-passenger pointed out that there is no driver to be tipped. Nor would he have to worry if the ‘driver’ was Covid-infected. A double bonus!
You are delivered to your destination at the precise promised time. Open the door and step out. And then the WAYMO takes a turn and zooms off to pick up the next fare.
You emerge from the vehicle, still dazed at having survived the unfamiliar ride. And then, you experience a sense of thrill at the potentialities of science and technology.
To those of us who are so accustomed to the chaos and indiscipline on Indian roads, the WAYMO will remain an enigma and a fantasy. Just think of the WAYMO making its way through Delhi라이브 바카라 Paharganj or navigating the frenetic Ashram Road traffic.
To move from the hustle-bustle of cosmopolitan Los Angeles to the placidity of Petersham village-town (Worchester country, central Massachusetts; population: 1173), is to journey between two very different Americas.
I spent four days in the Petersham village, with my elder brother, a Buddhist scholar; thoroughly savoured the picture postcard Sylvania scenery; the weather was perfect, bright, and sunny with a bracing cold wind, an ideal setting for taking long walks on the always deserted Monson Turnpike (during the 90 minutes on this road, only three cars went past, and no pedestrians crossed the road). The turnpike with its hills and valleys and tall birch trees carries with it a sense of endlessness. Very much reminiscent of the Srinagar-Baramulla road.
Here, in this corner of America, there is a sense of unhurriedness, none of the ‘here-this-very-minute’ urgency of downtown Los Angeles. There is also a hint of a solidarity. One man who has a septic tank business undertakes to clean tanks for his neighbours, without charging any fee; another helps out in disposing off the snow piled up on the driveways on the road.
On my last day in Petersham, a farmer-neighbour sent over a box of six eggs. And, surprise, surprise! Six eggs of six different colours. The farmer insisted he feeds his poultry stock nothing special, yet, he gets eggs of different colours. Some hens do move in mysterious ways.
Every single conversation in America betrays a creeping sense of unsettledness among the Americans.
Since the Second World War, Americans have enjoyed an era of unprecedented prosperity and stability at home and have been confident that their country had the military prowess to defeat any foreign threat.
For the first time, that confidence and complacency stand shaken, since Donald Trump came back to the White House on January 21, 2025. To begin with, everyone seems to know someone who has lost a job or whose job is on the line. Americans, including those who did vote for Trump, had expected a gentle trimming of federal bureaucracy.
No one expected that the President would empower Elon Musk to run amok with a chainsaw, shutting down programmes and agencies, and slashing funds for research and higher education. Not just federal funds. Most state and country programmes and projects receive some kind of federal grants/funds.
The impact of the Musk-instigated cuts and slashing is being felt way beyond Washington. Young people are exploring the possibility of moving to Canada or Europe.
An unstated fear is that with Musk라이브 바카라 inexperienced and raw “aides” having had access to the US Treasury data, Americans have potentially become vulnerable to financial fraud. Who knows whether someone from the Musk team may be tempted to sell the data to cyber-criminals and pirates?
Nobody seems to be sure about what the people who are losing their jobs are supposed to be doing. The resulting widespread dislocation and dispossession will have deep social consequences. In American history, no ruler has ended up causing so much anxiety, insecurity, and fear among his own subjects. It has just been less than ten weeks – and already so much havoc and turbulence!
Everyone has heard of the grand Library of Congress in Washington DC and the magnificent New York Public Library in Manhattan, the iconic Sterling Library at Yale University, and the Widner Library at Harvard. But it is not widely known that the “public library” is one of the finer institutions in the United States; an everyday organised experience that defines and enriches American civilisation.
All major cities will proudly boast of a public library. The larger objective seems to be to inculcate a culture of reading, learning, and thinking among the citizens, even those who may or may not have had the good fortune to attend a college.
What is more gratifying is that these public libraries are appropriately funded; at the Cambridge Public Library, for example, you will find copies of the latest issue of popular magazines like The New Yorker, or several copies of a new popular book. Readers can scan books and documents, and print, without any charge, up to 25 copies. Unlike in India where a reader is made to feel, in most libraries, like an intruder, the American public library offers a friendly welcome. It took my breath away when a cheerful assistant at the Cambridge Public Library told me that I could borrow as many as 150 books at a time.
In a state like Massachusetts, small towns boast of a decent public library. If a book is not available in the local library, it will get requisitioned from the network of 100 libraries.
In a small town such as Athol, located a few miles away from Petersham, the public library becomes a site of civic engagements, collective memories and identity. There is a kids' corner and teachers bring their students, who are four or five years old, and the idea of the library, books, reading and learning seeps into the young minds.
For me, the most gratifying experience was a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. One could fix an appointment online for the research archives. All papers and material are very meticulously catalogued and carefully preserved. There is no entrance fee. And, I was given a card with a one-year validity, giving me access to the archives and library.
Back in California. Strolling through a Los Angeles suburb, I was bowled over to find a collection of books, neatly housed on a home-made book-shelf, on the side-walk. Help yourself to any book...A reassuring sign that perhaps American civilisation has sufficient resilience to outlast the next four years of Trump's boorishness.
Many years ago, T.S. Eliot had observed: "The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.” Amen!