A newly opened section of Mumbai’s Coastal Road has drawn widespread attention after motorists discovered that it plays the tune of ‘Jai Ho’ when vehicles pass over specially engineered grooves at a steady speed. While some have welcomed the feature as an innovative addition to city infrastructure, others have questioned civic priorities.
The musical stretch, located on the northbound carriageway from Nariman Point to Worli, spans around 500 metres. When vehicles drive over embedded grooves at approximately 70 to 80 kmph, vibrations generated by the tyres produce the melody of the Oscar-winning song from Slumdog Millionaire. Signboards placed 500 metres, 100 metres and 60 metres before the strip alert drivers to maintain a consistent speed to experience the effect.
The feature went viral after a video filmed from inside a moving car circulated online. The clip shows a vehicle emerging from an underground tunnel onto a well-lit stretch of road. As the car aligns with the marked section, the tune becomes audible without any input from the vehicle’s audio system.
Despite the novelty, reactions on social media were divided. One user said, “Can we first have all roads as pothole-free and then add musical aesthetics to it?”
Another wrote, “Focus is only on Coastal Road by @Dev_Fadnavis. What about other Roads of Mumbai that Mumbaikars travel daily? Please come to Mulund, we too have a different type of Musical Roads combined with some dance in 3-wheelers or 4-wheelers, we travel in breaking our backs, zero efforts,” a person said.
A third comment read, “Musical road exists. Potholes still run the country. vibes > infrastructure. Are we winning or just making noise?”
The installation has triggered debate over innovation versus basic infrastructure needs, even as it adds an unusual soundtrack to a section of Mumbai’s coastline commute.
Source: Financial Express
