No silly banters !

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.