 |
M
|
y autorickshaw rides in Mangalore, most of the time, have
been an enlightening experience. I get into the three-wheeler, only to be laden
with some serious thoughts as I get down.
Those have never been boring jaunts as there would be an analysis of the
problems at the grass roots. Many areas which were hitherto unknown to me were
uncovered !
One gaping
pothole is enough to make the drivers’ tongue wag. Luckily (?) potholes lay all
your way in Mangalore. If you show a little interest in their diatribe, they
continue until you alight. Their ire, as always, is against the government as
to how the government mulls over repairing the road after collecting hefty
taxes. If it is pouring cats and dogs, a talk on the downpour, like how the
rainy days were before and now how the city has gone to the dogs wanting in
basic requirements, awaits you, especially by senior autowaalas.
They would spill
the beans about the dignitaries in the city, whom you have been adoring all
these years. You never feel like interrupting when the gossip mill is busy
churning out spicy news for you.
Once, when I was
paying the autowaala, he said “I give medicines for joint pain”. Hearing this
when I looked at him in disbelief, he told me “I have cured about 2,979
persons,” if I am remembering the figures correctly. If that was not enough,
the enterprising driver added: “I prepare pickles. If you want I have them
right now priced at Rs 30 per bottle.” I, however, did not buy was a different
matter.
Some are most
willing to share their family affairs. I was pleasantly surprised to learn from
an old auto driver that his postgraduate daughter has settled in the US of
America following her marriage and his son studying law. Some are eagerly ready
to tell you about the day’s collection and how they struggle to make ends meet
with their meager income. The young ambitious autowaalas forever are grumbling
about the fares, while the old is content with the “fair” fare. That shows the
shift in the priorities of the two generations.
Once my sis-in-law
and I had been to the second show of a Big B-starrer movie. When we were
discussing about the movie in the auto, our movie buff driver joined us quite
vocally. Then came a talk on yester-year movies and actors.
However, that
does not mean I have never met rude autowaalas. I have also seen drivers who
vanish without giving change or extort unreasonable fare on long routes.
Sometimes they are simply overtly rude. But such bitter incidents are minimal
when compared to the “feel-good” episodes.
Luckily, unlike
in other big cities, Mangalore doesn’t have much alternate routes for the
driver to take the passenger “for a ride.” The bumpy roads apart, the
autowaalas, most of the time make our jaunt a smooth ride. Let their breed
flourish.
