Autowallahs !!

A trip to New Delhi cannot be complete with at least a view, if not a ride, of those yellow and green three wheelers that parade the capital’s roads. Well, these cute little things that run on ‘compressed natural gas’ and provide for cross ventilation in the actual sense, are a boon when you see their mighty counterparts called ‘buses’ crammed up to the max in the worst of summer or when you’re a just a student with no personal transport and have to reach a hostel with absurd timings..!!

Seriously, I have no problems with Delhi’s auto rickshaws or autos, as we call it. Infact, as ridiculous and bizarre as this sounds, but one of my initial career options, when I barely started school, was to become an auto rickshaw driver..!! Stop raising those eyebrows and read on..! I just loved the fact that these guys could drive something like a bike in something like a car (don’t even bother to decipher this line if you couldn’t get it the first time). But what I have problems with are these very drivers, the ‘Delhi’ ones in particular (with no offense to Delhites in general).

So the countdown begins. You’ve got 30 minutes to reach a place you can reach in 15 minutes. You spend the first 5 minutes waiting for an auto to come by. When you finally flag one down, the next 5 minutes go in him telling you that there are no U-turns close to the destination or that there’ll be no passengers at the destination (yeah…these guys work part-time as tarot card readers who can predict the future). Hence, it’s a mighty huge problem for him but he’ll still be the Good Samaritan and do you a favour but at 20-30 bucks more. That big fat oaf!!! Another 5 minutes go in you lecturing him to go by the meter and arguing with him that all his excuses are just a heap of crap! He won’t go by the meter but agrees to bring down the charge by 5 bucks, like he’s doing you a world of a favour. You’re still not convinced…and why should you when it’s him who needs to be convinced!! 5 minutes go in arguing with another driver or basically telling them to shoo away for their bizarre charges and not complying with the rules. 5 more minutes go in no empty auto coming your way. You’ve got only 5 minutes to go and you’re still not in any mode of transport that goes anywhere close to your destination. BAD sign!! With 5 more minutes to go, you’d just be lucky to manage one who’s ready to go by the meter or agree to a price extremely close to yours. And you reach your destination a good number of minutes late.
And if it was a job interview you were heading towards…well then…god bless you!! 

Ok…I just might have exaggerated this whole episode a teeny-weeny bit but there’s no denying that it definitely includes at least a good 90% of the above. Oh, and if you’re looking for an auto, say anytime after 7pm, trouble hounds you once again. The auto drivers are definitely gonna hike their prices!!

Then there are the frequent ‘Oh, do we have to go beyond the gate??’… ‘Oh, you didn’t say that the house is beyond the blah blah point’ and the constant pitter-patter of their words continues!!

Let’s just say that you could consider yourself lucky if the driver does not know the route. He’d be ready to go by the meter and to you showing him the way. That way, you can ensure no arguments but a hopefully peaceful ride back to the place of your bliss where you can lay yourself down !!