Tooting and tootling along

A chara, – I read with a sense of nostalgia that India’s federal transport minister is legislating to replace “raucous vehicle horns with those emitting melodious sounds of classical Indian musical instruments” (“India mulls musical remedy to car horns”, World, October 6th). It reminded me of the instruction manual that came with my first motorbike, a Yamaha 80, in 1966. The language had some delightfully quirky English translations of the Japanese original. The advice in certain situations was to “tootle the horn melodiously”. – Is mise,

MURT Ó SÉAGHDHA,

Dundalk, Co Louth.