The Lone Traveller - II

There have been many memorable auto rides.. the one where I got stuck in a huge traffic in the middle of the road on my way to the catch my train – I was going home for diwali. My uncle was driving me to the station and an entire road was blocked. I jumped over the security barricade , luggage and all… and caught an auto. The autokaarar vowed that he would take me to the station in time..and we got to talking on the way..he explained how he was working for Aircel’s mobile tower business and worked with all their 40 odd towers in the city. “I cannot manage with a Rs. 200 wage everyday.. so I switched to driving autos”! – he eventually got me to the station in time, wished me “Happy Diwali” before he started off. Another day it was pouring cats and dogs – I had to get a certificate immediately . I caught an auto and told him I needed to get to this place or I would fail to meet an application deadline. He started talking to me about how he made his wife (whom he married as a class 12 student) pass two degrees, take up Hindi exams and proudly told me “I could not study any further, but my wife is intelligent – she speaks Hindi and English very well at her work place and teaches our kids at home.. Ponnunga padikanum ma.. neriya padikanum.. (girls should get solid education)”. He also started telling me how he changed himself from the atheist that he was, about his children .. he just kept talking and I could not help admire his outright passion towards life. The other ride I took with a lady auto driver who so cleverly markets her business - she gave me her number to call if I ever needed an auto again and also asked me to share it with colleagues in office! My perception of the Chennai autokaarars changed completely – there is more to them than their brash driving and hefty fares.
Here comes my favourite part – the share auto! These autos typically ply along a fixed route – the perfect substitute to the over crowded bus and you still don’t have to pay a bomb to travel like in autos. They squeeze in ten people inside an auto that can hold six – but you can still reach your place in time as they are fast, convenient, and stop wherever you ask them to along the route. I was standing outside Anna University once on my way back from CAT classes one day. There was this lady who did not know the place and wanted to get to Vadapalani, where I was travelling to. I asked her to come with me in my share auto, made her cross roads , catch another bus and dropped her off in her place. She held my hand and said “you are just like my daughter” while we crossed Kathipara junction – it still rings in my mind everytime I pass Kathipara. And my visit to Paris Corner to get teaching aids for our CSR school – I had never been to the area, so I started talking to a lady near me. I asked if she knew where I could find the right shop in that area – she asked me what for and I told her. I had merely asked her for directions, but she got off the bus with me, took me to the market , pointed out the store and even asked me if I wanted her to come help with the stuff. She said “you are doing this for a good cause; I think God has sent me to help you out”, and then walked off waving cheerfully. She took a route different from hers just for a person she met for five minutes in a bus. Going by a Tamil adage, it is because of people like these that it still rains in the country.