A viral video posted on Christmas Day has perfectly encapsulated Bengaluru's unique holiday traffic phenomenon, drawing both amusement and weary recognition from netizens. The clip, shared on Instagram, highlights the dramatic difference between roads leading into and out of the city during the festive break.
The Stark Contrast Captured on Camera
The video was posted on December 25 by the Instagram account @wanderjoy. Titled ‘Nice Road traffic situation on 25th Dec’, it opens with a shot of a surprisingly calm and nearly deserted stretch of highway. A text overlay clearly states the context: "Entering Bengaluru on 25th Dec, 7 am." The scene is one of unusual tranquility for a city notorious for its congestion.
This peaceful view lasts only a moment. The camera then pans to the opposite side of the road, revealing a completely different reality. The carriageway is packed with a long, slow-moving queue of vehicles, a classic bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. The text here reads: "Exiting Bengaluru on 25th Dec, 7:15 am." The contrast, captured within minutes of each other, is both humorous and telling.
Netizens React: From Jokes to Context
The video quickly resonated with thousands, filling the comments section with relatable reactions. One user succinctly captured the city's holiday rhythm, writing, "Holiday means half of Bangalore rushes out of city." Another joked that during such periods, traveling inside Bengaluru feels like being transported back to the less congested 1990s.
While many poked fun at the mass exodus, some defended staying put. "Its peaceful to stay in Bangalore during holidays," one comment noted, highlighting the quieter inner-city roads when residents leave. Others offered a more sarcastic take on the cycle, with a user remarking, "Bangaloreans First make Bangalore chaotic during working days…then go on to make tourist places chaotic during weekends n holiday."
Amid the humour, a commenter added important context to the specific congestion shown, pointing out, "That is because one major accident happened at NH48 nearby Chitradurga… we were stuck for 4-5 hours." This reminder pointed to how incidents on major highways can exacerbate the already heavy holiday traffic flow out of the city.
A Recurring Pattern in India's Tech Capital
This Christmas morning scene is not an isolated event but part of a well-established pattern for Bengaluru. The city consistently ranks among India's most congested urban centers. However, long weekends and major festivals like Christmas and Diwali often flip this script. While the city's internal neighborhoods become quieter and more navigable, the highways radiating outwards bear the brunt of the holiday rush.
A similar scenario played out earlier during the Diwali break this year, when many residents remarked that parts of Bengaluru felt like a 'ghost town' as people traveled to their hometowns. The viral video from Nice Road on Christmas serves as a fresh, visual testament to this annual urban migration, capturing the city's traffic paradox in a simple, split-screen reality.
