Auto -wallah - A True Character !!
As a salesman, the traveller in me, likes every kind of travel, be it air, trains, car, bus or for that matter even an Auto rickshaw seems to be the best option.
If you are planning to catch a flight and are in Mumbai, the best option whether you like it or not, is an Auto especially when in the evening peak hours ( anytime between 5.00pm to 10pm). Ofcourse, if you stay at the outskirts, it is common sense to come by a local train to the nearest station on the Central line like Kurla or Ghatkopar and take an Auto to reach the Airport. Anyways, don’t want to sound like a travel guide here :p
Auto Rickshaw, are cool means of travel in Mumbai when you need to travel faster. YES, faster in the peak traffic hours. Even if you have the most luxurious, most expensive car or taxi in Mumbai, be sure, you cannot win the race with our Auto-wallahs ;)
I wonder who invented the name Rickshaw for these three- wheelers. Probably, Shaw – Wallace, the liquor manufacturers from India named it after one of their kids Rick Shaw :P ..... Just kidding
Don’t go with their size and shapes, they can be the best fit for travelers like us when you are in real need to reach your destination faster than the destined Mumbai traffic time.
I have always found it entertaining to travel in these Auto Rick – Shaws as they inspire you when you are really down and depress you when you are really on a high ;) Here the pronoun “they” stands for our great character “ Auto wallah”. Enter an auto rick shaw and you will find at your service, the stylish, the sluggish, the Spy, the ugly, the smart, the rude and please put some more nice adjectives as complimentory offer from me, to our super character “Autowallah”
Amchi Mumbai is changing and so are our mama – kaka Autowalla who have been replaced by “ Bhai saab” and “Bhaiyyas” thanks to the convenience of Trains from Bihar, UP and West Bengal. The Marathi manoos, our kaka – mama’s, do have a demand but more for the local politicians who mention them quite often in their inspiring speeches. Nevertheless, Mumbai is still the safest city for Rickshaw travel inspite of these cosmopolitan character Autowallahs.
I feel proud to hear many times, when I travel to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai or other cities, I always get a mention that Mumbai is the safest of all with regards to Auto Rickshaws. Yes, our Autowallahs are having a great reputation J
Coming back to the introduction, our Autowallahs come in different characters, full of life.
Character 1 : You hire an auto, travel without a single word – pay the rent – over :D We call these autowallah as the selective of the lot ;) These kind of drivers are choosy. They will choose the right people to talk to and will always respect the frame of your mind.
Character 2 : You hire an auto, travel . You start a conversation for 5 minutes and end up the next 10 minutes saying “ Hmmm”, “ correct”, “Yes” and “ No”. You try hard to stop and ignore, but they will make sure you listen :D we call them Time Bomb. You speak and trigger them, they will ensure they make good noise :p
Character 3 : You hire an Auto, travel . This Autowallah will interview and scan you on your job, your family, your general knowledge,your purpose in life and probably things which you never knew about yourself. He will continue this till you get out of the auto. He might also give you some good tips on the way. Be sure you engage in this conversation since most of the time, he will keep checking you from the mirror. Better listen to him and avoid an accident. We call them “ The Reporters” as you gain some extra knowledge that specific day :D
Character 4 : Iam sure I don’t need to introduce this guy as most of you might have tried these types. You hire him as you need to reach somewhere on time. Be sure, either he messes up the way or drives like a zombie. You keep yelling at him, but he don’t care. As if someone has given him a contract to make you late, he will keep his word. There are also sequel to such characters. They go in the next stage. You keep yelling and they show you how they can beat even a Michael Schumacher ;) We can only pray that we reach our destination in one piece ;) We call these type as “Zombies”
Character 5 : They are music lovers. So much so that as soon as you enter they will start their Car stereo ( sorry but Akai or Takara haven’t yet innovated any Rickshaw stereo L ) Whether you follow the song ( as you might actually not be from Mumbai) , like the music, you have to hear it. On top, our character will ensure you hear his voice in chorus along with the lead singers ;) But most of the time, these autowallahs are disoriented. Be sure, you will be dropped either 1km ahead or before of your final destination …
Iam sure there are many different characters and colours to these autowallahs and as a Mumbaikar, you can add maybe another 10 different types ;)
But just like the local trains, life would have been so difficult without our Autowallahs, isn’t it?
What say Mumbaikar??
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