These days I travel home by auto in the evenings (as I have a wound on my foot that’s still healing). The driver asked for 150 bucks. I said I’d pay only Rs. 120 and he said he’d come down only to Rs. 140. I was feeling very tired and didn’t want to wait for another auto. I got in. I was curious as to why auto drivers charged so much and asked him how much mileage the vehicle yielded. He said it gave 25 km per litre. And that was the start of a long conversation, an "interview" as I would like to call it – which brought out quite a lot from the auto driver and gave me some things to reflect about.
He told me that he had driven all kinds of vehicles in his life – cars, carts, even boats. Aeroplane-um train-um than ma naan ottaley. For many years he had been a car driver; he said he’d worked for many wealthy families. He recounted his experiences while working as a driver – mostly ranting about mean employers, spoilt rich kids who were difficult to manage, employers asking him to wipe cars they hardly used, women asking him to buy vegetables… then he said “There are difficulties in every profession.” Which is of course true.
The auto driver said he’d worked for and known famous people. He talked about Cho Ramaswamy (actor and editor of Tughlak magazine) and how he was a very good man who respected and interacted with people from all backgrounds and classes. He also said something really interesting: Apparently, comedy actor “Loose” Mohan’s son was his classmate; he had known the actor and claimed that he taught him Chennai slang dialogues.
I also asked him how much he made every month and he said that some days he would make a lot of money, some other days he would make very less (a reply I could’ve expected); I didn’t get to know how much the guy made on an average. He said driving in traffic all day made him very tired (which we should really think about – imagine, all auto drivers are bound to get very frustrated because of the traffic every single day).
He felt that I was down to earth and had interacted with him without looking down upon him because he was only an auto driver. He said that my attitude would bring me a good husband and good things in life. I was really touched by this.
I am sure God had a hand in this. He wanted me to interact with an auto driver and take a peek into his world instead of being cocooned in my world and cribbing about increasing rates (this is not to say I think Rs. 140 isn’t high. They can bring it down a little.) It was an interesting evening indeed!
Showing posts with label Tuk Tuk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tuk Tuk. Show all posts
Auto podum aattam
Do you know how much it costs to hire an auto for a month to travel from Velachery to Cenotaph Road (on weekdays only)? 5000-6000 bucks (I got this info from an auto hire service). From Cenotaph Road to Alwarpet Circle, drivers charge Rs.40-50! I can travel that distance by bike in 10 minutes.
When did the common man’s tuk tuk become a luxury transport option? I can pay 5 bucks for a ticket on a sad looking bus, but 50 bucks for an auto ride? This is the five star experience that Chennai autos offer – reckless driving and a jolty ride, an unkempt driver talking in pucca local Tamil, letting foul words fly at fellow commuters. Will travelling in an auto ever be a pleasant experience that offers me value for money?
I could continue to crib. But let me treat this article in a different way.
There is an upside to this - a bright opportunity for us. We can consider becoming auto drivers, seeing that it’s an extremely lucrative job.
Oru small karpanai (day dream) – what if I choose to become an auto driver?
I’ll wear a mafia style suit and sunglasses. I’ll paint my auto shiny black with Italian style design touches. It’ll have soft black Italian leather seats. There will be red satin curtains on the window and sides. Then commuters would willingly shell out 50 bucks, why, a lot more for a ten minute ride.
Or I’ll paint my auto in bright colours and give it kitschy interiors – totally in Manish Arora ishtyle. I’ll serve refreshing sherbet and bright pink cotton candy to customers (in keeping with the kitsch theme). I’ll play dabbankoothu and Bollywood songs & give customers the ride of their lives.
Ok… enough of that. Let me come back to reality, where I am stuck with the misfortune of having to travel home by auto for a few weeks, due to a wound on my foot, that’s still healing. I have to put up with autowallahs and shell out money for many days to come. Wish me all the best!
When did the common man’s tuk tuk become a luxury transport option? I can pay 5 bucks for a ticket on a sad looking bus, but 50 bucks for an auto ride? This is the five star experience that Chennai autos offer – reckless driving and a jolty ride, an unkempt driver talking in pucca local Tamil, letting foul words fly at fellow commuters. Will travelling in an auto ever be a pleasant experience that offers me value for money?
I could continue to crib. But let me treat this article in a different way.
There is an upside to this - a bright opportunity for us. We can consider becoming auto drivers, seeing that it’s an extremely lucrative job.
Oru small karpanai (day dream) – what if I choose to become an auto driver?
I’ll wear a mafia style suit and sunglasses. I’ll paint my auto shiny black with Italian style design touches. It’ll have soft black Italian leather seats. There will be red satin curtains on the window and sides. Then commuters would willingly shell out 50 bucks, why, a lot more for a ten minute ride.
Or I’ll paint my auto in bright colours and give it kitschy interiors – totally in Manish Arora ishtyle. I’ll serve refreshing sherbet and bright pink cotton candy to customers (in keeping with the kitsch theme). I’ll play dabbankoothu and Bollywood songs & give customers the ride of their lives.
Ok… enough of that. Let me come back to reality, where I am stuck with the misfortune of having to travel home by auto for a few weeks, due to a wound on my foot, that’s still healing. I have to put up with autowallahs and shell out money for many days to come. Wish me all the best!
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