Account of an auto driver
Today i had to accomplish the task of moving the bed and a big cartoon belonging to my friend to his house. While i was on my way back from office, i spotted a carrier auto parked at Banashankri II'nd stage. I asked for the driver to the man standing near auto. He pointed towards a tea stall. The driver seemed to be of the same age as mine, was a shade darker than me, a bit smaller in height and thinner. I asked him for the fare from kanakpura road to marathahalli overbridge. He informed me it would be Rs 800. Then i told him that the goods were to be picked up from my house at Gubbalala village. Then he asked for Rs 1000. After a little bit of haggling he agreed on Rs 900. I took him to my house.
I started moving the bed and cartoon on my own. Seeing that he offered help. Together we moved the bed which had once taken four of my friends to move. Pretty soon we started our journey. He took me through J P Nagar. Earlier i used to think that i'm pretty much aware of that area. But this guy took me to roads, none of which were traveled by me. It was a whole new world. At one point we were traveling through narrow roads of an area, which would have been recently converted to look like a city but still had characteristics of village left in it, he stopped and asked me if i wanted to smoke. I denied, he bought his cigarette and puffed away smoke. It seems it helped him, he was not impatient even in heavy traffic which took minutes to move an inch.
Once we reached silk board it was a smooth ride because of the construction of several over-bridges.
Reaching our destination, we moved the bed on second floor very quickly but i was completely drained out in the whole process so i opened the fridge in my friend's house and drank butter milk in ample amount out of thirst.
Earlier the plan was to return on some other auto along with some goods to be brought from my friend's house to my house. But because of the change in plan i had to return empty handed immediately. I thought of returning back with same auto but by the time my friend informed me that i have to return empty handed, the auto driver was gone. Before that my friend had taken his number and at that point i had come to know his name, Slim Khan. So my friend gave him a call to check how far had he gone. He had not got far so I ran to catch him. Going with him would save two bus changes for me. It had been quite some time since i ran because few other responsibilities required my time. So my routine had changed. As a result this small run also gave me a lot of panting. Anyways i was able to catch Salim and our return journey started. He said had i asked him, he would have returned back to pick me up. I politely said thanks.
I asked him casually if he is married. He said no. He said he lives alone. He had two sisters, one elder and one younger. The elder sister was married when his mother was alive. After his mother's death, his father married some other woman and abandoned them. So Salim himself arranged for the marriage of his younger sister. She was not having two kids which he informed very proudly. There was a sense of achievement in his statement. He was able to marry off his sister without his father help. He said he was 28 and will marry once he is 35. Professionally he had tried his hand in few things in few he burnt his hand and in few he was able to survive. Initially he used to be a car driver to some executive living in Komarla Brigade Residency. That guy fled out of this country without paying his wages for three months. After that he started his scrap business. There also he suffered heavy losses. Then he shifted to goods carrier driver. In this work he had to pay Rs 200 to the owner of the carrier auto so that he can use it.
Then he asked my salary and i lied to him about it. He asked how can he become a software engineer. I informed him about the courses to complete to become one. He informed me that once he was very rich but he had a very bad habit of watching live shows and bar dances. All his money was drained away in that. He became very philosophical and said "When one has some thing we don't value it and once its gone we repent." In case of money we should always save it. He asked innocently if Punjab is a very poor state. I informed him its opposite of poor to which he reasoned "then why do pujabans come here as bar dancers". I guessed they might be in high demand among kannadigas.
He continued, "If you have to live in this city you have to be some big shot. Here even to be a common man you have to own a house or else your whole income would be wasted in paying the rent." He advised me to earn enough to be able to buy a house. He was once hired by a delhite living here to shift his house. From that time he was called every year by him and in two years the delhite gave him a final call to shift goods to "HIS" own house. He told this story to inspire me.
He was living here with his mausi and was paying a rent of Rs2500. He used to pay Rs1500 and Rs 1000 was contributed by his mausi's family. He said this was the arrangement because his mausi used cook the food for him and wash his clothes. That's why he told, "Even if you give me a call at 12 in the night i'll come for your service sir."
In these talks and his advises time flew and i reached my destination. I offered him money which he denied to take and left bidding good bye.
I started moving the bed and cartoon on my own. Seeing that he offered help. Together we moved the bed which had once taken four of my friends to move. Pretty soon we started our journey. He took me through J P Nagar. Earlier i used to think that i'm pretty much aware of that area. But this guy took me to roads, none of which were traveled by me. It was a whole new world. At one point we were traveling through narrow roads of an area, which would have been recently converted to look like a city but still had characteristics of village left in it, he stopped and asked me if i wanted to smoke. I denied, he bought his cigarette and puffed away smoke. It seems it helped him, he was not impatient even in heavy traffic which took minutes to move an inch.
Once we reached silk board it was a smooth ride because of the construction of several over-bridges.
Reaching our destination, we moved the bed on second floor very quickly but i was completely drained out in the whole process so i opened the fridge in my friend's house and drank butter milk in ample amount out of thirst.
Earlier the plan was to return on some other auto along with some goods to be brought from my friend's house to my house. But because of the change in plan i had to return empty handed immediately. I thought of returning back with same auto but by the time my friend informed me that i have to return empty handed, the auto driver was gone. Before that my friend had taken his number and at that point i had come to know his name, Slim Khan. So my friend gave him a call to check how far had he gone. He had not got far so I ran to catch him. Going with him would save two bus changes for me. It had been quite some time since i ran because few other responsibilities required my time. So my routine had changed. As a result this small run also gave me a lot of panting. Anyways i was able to catch Salim and our return journey started. He said had i asked him, he would have returned back to pick me up. I politely said thanks.
I asked him casually if he is married. He said no. He said he lives alone. He had two sisters, one elder and one younger. The elder sister was married when his mother was alive. After his mother's death, his father married some other woman and abandoned them. So Salim himself arranged for the marriage of his younger sister. She was not having two kids which he informed very proudly. There was a sense of achievement in his statement. He was able to marry off his sister without his father help. He said he was 28 and will marry once he is 35. Professionally he had tried his hand in few things in few he burnt his hand and in few he was able to survive. Initially he used to be a car driver to some executive living in Komarla Brigade Residency. That guy fled out of this country without paying his wages for three months. After that he started his scrap business. There also he suffered heavy losses. Then he shifted to goods carrier driver. In this work he had to pay Rs 200 to the owner of the carrier auto so that he can use it.
Then he asked my salary and i lied to him about it. He asked how can he become a software engineer. I informed him about the courses to complete to become one. He informed me that once he was very rich but he had a very bad habit of watching live shows and bar dances. All his money was drained away in that. He became very philosophical and said "When one has some thing we don't value it and once its gone we repent." In case of money we should always save it. He asked innocently if Punjab is a very poor state. I informed him its opposite of poor to which he reasoned "then why do pujabans come here as bar dancers". I guessed they might be in high demand among kannadigas.
He continued, "If you have to live in this city you have to be some big shot. Here even to be a common man you have to own a house or else your whole income would be wasted in paying the rent." He advised me to earn enough to be able to buy a house. He was once hired by a delhite living here to shift his house. From that time he was called every year by him and in two years the delhite gave him a final call to shift goods to "HIS" own house. He told this story to inspire me.
He was living here with his mausi and was paying a rent of Rs2500. He used to pay Rs1500 and Rs 1000 was contributed by his mausi's family. He said this was the arrangement because his mausi used cook the food for him and wash his clothes. That's why he told, "Even if you give me a call at 12 in the night i'll come for your service sir."
In these talks and his advises time flew and i reached my destination. I offered him money which he denied to take and left bidding good bye.
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