Will you ‘segue’ with me?

Ratna Raman

SEGUE (noun; to follow) comes from music and film, indicating an uninterrupted shift from a piece of music or a scene to another. This also holds true of conversation that effortlessly flows from one subject to another or an ongoing convoy of vehicles. Imagine my surprise on discovering ‘segue rides’ during a recent vacation. Insisting that “it was a once in a lifetime experience”, a young relative egged me on. The segue dealer added encouragingly that ‘segueing’ was 10 times easier than cycling, pushing me  to try it out for the first time in my life.

 A ‘segue tour’ of  Pest, one of the two cities separated by the Danube in modern Budapest, convinced me that  segues facilitate uninterrupted movement from one location to another and greatly benefit walkers.

Segue riding involves standing on a raised platform 10 inches high with the dimensions of a large weighing scale. Two thick wheels are sturdily attached to the sides of the platform. A two-armed-long handle in front (modelled on the travelling bag handle) provides support and balance.  The battery-powered segue moves when pressure is exerted by the feet. Pressing on the platform with the front of the feet allows it to go forward. Shifting body weight to the heels causes it to pause or halt. Putting extra weight on the left foot allows a left turn. Weight transferred to the right foot enables a right turn. It is a useful, eco-friendly mode of transportation.

Roller skates and skate boards with wheels have been popular modes of travel on city pavements in America and Europe. Their advent in India has unfortunately been thwarted by the shabby condition of our roads. 

Segue rides, roller skates and skate boards serve as premium adventure activities in elite pockets of urban India.  However, they are yet to be harnessed as a means of mass transportation. Segues are ideal for the middle aged, the saree clad, the overweight and the elderly, who need to commute  short distances. 

Since our roads do not segue into our pavements or vice versa, it is unlikely that happy alternatives such as segue riding will ever be available to the vast majority of Indians. Our streets lack cycle tracks and may not add them any time in the future. Pavements in Lutyen’s Delhi are eaten up by exotic foliage, discarded from the inside of oversized bungalows.  Builders of pavements observe one cardinal rule: Drivers of four-wheeled vehicles cannot drive on the pavements. Neither can pedestrians use pavements because pavements do not taper off into the road to enable access.  

Dean Kamen, the inventor of Segway, drove off a cliff, killing himself. Could despair at the increase in fuel propelled vehicular traffic and the niche status continually occupied by his invention have prompted his drastic segue (transition) from life to death?