Another stint with an autowallah….

Autowallahs it seems are driving me crazy. Man, there’s so much to learn from them. So much of knowledge to be gained……It sometimes makes me feel strange to see people who cant afford the kind of luxury we do being so good at heart.

The incident that took place today totally left me flabbergasted. I generally go to my university with one of my close friend’s with whom I have car pooled. He comes and picks me up from a point mid-way which is convenient to both of us. To go to that point  I usually take an auto. This in short is the routine I generally follow.

 The same cycle was followed today as well but with a dash of difference. The difference that forever changed my perception of these autowallahs. I got down at my point as usual and handed him a 100 Rupee note. Now, this guy didnt have the change to return me back. The trip costed me 30 Rs and this chap owed me 70 bucks. We tried asking for change from people who were passing by, some vegetable and fruit vendors but unfortunately none of them had any. Maybe, they didnt want to give. I seriously dont know. But all our efforts to get the change proved futile.

Suddenly my friend came in. I asked him for change, but this guy too didnt have. So we were left standing somewhere in the middle of a busy road looking for change and none of the people-right from a traffic cop to an industrialist didnt have. This actually can be a perfect example of India’s development. People indeed have got richer by the day. They dont have two fifty rupee notes

This autowallah comes to me, tells me to go to the college and not to worry about the money as he would collect from me later on. I am like when, he is like “Duniya bahut chotti hai sahab, kahin na kahin phir kabhie mulakat zaroor hogi” (The world indeed’s a small place to live in and we would definately be seeing each other for sure)

I am speechless. All I do is thank him, shake his hands, get into the car and move ahead. His auto’s disappeared and the the last thing I can see is the registration number that reads something like :- DL-1-RH-1699

What amazes me is the fact that if a person of mine or your caliber would have been in this guy’s place, we would have left no stone unturned to get our money. Admit it or not, this what we have been born and brought up to.To be cruel in any and every situation. Whether the other’s person’s in a hurry or not, the work should be done. I saw something really different in this guy’s attitude, something that made me think that in today’s cruel mad world u still have kind hearted people like him for whom money is not the priroity.

 This is what a common man in today’s world is. Sometimes a God and most of the times a Devil. But the show goes on…..

Conversation with an Aam Aadmi…

Its 7 in the evening and I have just come out of a cinema hall watching a movie. I need to rush home and autos are nowhere to be seen. When u bloody need them, they are nowhere to be seen and when you don’t…you see a “baraat”of autos coming your way.  Somehow, I manage to find an auto-wallah who after a lot of “tu tu..main main;” agrees to drop me at my place. I am relaxed…I am at ease…ah…finally I get to reach home well on time…

We are just about half a kilometer from the theatre…An interesting conversation takes place between me and the auto-wallah..Its me who takes the initiative of speaking to him…

 Me:- Man, watching a movie now a days is so freaking expensive…I shelled out 175 bucks for an idiotic movie…which eventually was of no use…now dunno what to do…

 Auto-Wallah:- Boss, how are the theatres. I, off-late have been hearing a lot about multiplexes.But as I am the whole n sole earner of my family, spending this much amount makes no sense to me…Acha tell me whats the price of the upper stall and balcony…

Me:- Dude…multiplexes don’t have upper stalls and balconies…all they have is some 20 weird rows….First seven or eight rows costs one Rs 150 while row no. eight to twenty costs you Rs 175…

Auto-Wallah:- Sir, XYZ theatre, which is just about half a kilometer from this multiplex charges Rs 50 for a balcony ticket…I would rather prefer showing a movie to my family there than here….as within 175 Rs my whole family can see….

Me:- Man u have a point…but I feel…people’s attitude towards life is changing….Even if a person earns 5000 a month, he would come to a multiplex at least twice to watch a movie. Watching a movie here has become a status symbol and no matter how fat or thin your pay packet is, u feel proud wasting on a movie…

Me:- (After a break of about two minutes) A company that pays someone 50,000 a month sees to it that it equally screws that person’s life…A person literally has to slog for 18 hours to get that much amount of salary….movies are like a stress-buster for him….it kind of rejuvenates him…maybe for all u know the mushrooming of discs and theatres are directly proportional to a person’s stressful life.

Auto-Wallah:- Right said sir…My neighbour’s salary is 38,000 a month…he leaves his place at seven in the morning and comes back by eleven….by the time he reaches home..he’s so damn fatigued that he just sleeps off…Next day..back to normal routine…He at times…asks me to drop him at his office…but I usually don’t….

Auto-Wallah:- But sir…seeing the way he works…seeing his dedication…I somehow feel motivated….Earlier I used to hit the roads with my auto at ten in the morning…but now by nine I am usually out…and by ten I am back….Whatever said and done; I get a good night’s sleep..because deep down inside me I know that I have worked hard…Be it an earning of fifty Rupees or Five Hundred Rupees for a day….I feel good…because this money is out of my sheer sweat…..and that’s what its real value is…unless and until the money in your wallet is not smelling of your sweat, then that  is not your hard earned money…its a haraam ki kamai….which eventually makes u feel guilty because deep down inside u, u know that this is not what u want…

Me:- Yup, well said mate…

(We are stuck in a major traffic jam..the traffic’s moving slowly….I still am about 3 kms from my destination)

Auto-Wallah:- Do u know that Amitabh Bachchan even at the age 65 years, just sleeps for about 5 hours…and for a human being…those many hours of sound sleep are more than enough. Every other day u read about him that he attended the early  morning Arti at Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Mumbai with his son and daughter-in-law..see the amount of dedication he has towards his work…its just phenomenal….just amazing….

Me:- Hmm…u are right…I read about that couple of days back….

Auto-Wallah:- Sir, the harder u work…the luckier u get…u respect people around u….u in turn gain respect….that’s what the bottom-line is….

Me:- Hmmmm

(My destination’s about a km away…there’s calmness in the auto…I don’t know what’s he thinking…but I actually am trying to recollect what he said…thinking…whether those values and principles given by this Aam Aadmi are of any worth….by the time..these thoughts are complied…I have reached my destination)

Me:- Boss…thank u…it was a nice and a pleasant trip…acha lagaa aapse baat karke….And I hand over the money….he zooms away…All I am able to do is just write his auto number….as that’s the only thing visible to me….The auto no is (DL-1RG-0659)

Dunno whether I would be seeing him next…whether I would be getting a chance to sit on his auto again or not…but all I can say is that sometimes an Aam Aadmi like him who is less educated..who has seen less world than we actually have…can make a lot of difference….

What exactly is an aam aadmi’s life?

Here’s a common man’s schedule:-

1. Gets up in the morning.
2. Goes to the loo first. If he has a pet, he will take his pet for a walk. Else, would switch on the Television, listen to a “Satsang” till the time the bed tea’s served.
3. This is followed by reading rather browsing through the newspaper.
4. Goes to take his bath.
5. Gets ready. Has his breakfast. Leaves for the office.
6. Fights, Negotiates, Deals with People
7. Reaches home in the evening
8 Has his dinner.
9. Sleeps of while watching TV.

and the loop continues…

What kind of life is this….All u do is slog just to earn ur daily doze of bread and butter..there is no charm…no spice left…At the most all he can do is go out with his children to some park or at the most watch a movie..that too during the weekends….

Eventually, he will retire..Later..his kids more or less would follow the same lifestyle..barring the techological advancements…

All I am asking is cant this common man’s life be made more interesting…cant there be more than just job and money..cant there be happiness..a sense of gratification…

For all u know may be the final decision rests the person himself…

This blog is meant for all those “common people” or the “aam aadmees”..who are bored with their cliched lives and have a zeal to do something different…