Saved a 40 to shell out a 50
“Boss… Indiranagar??”
“Er... Hundred rupees saar”
“Yaake boss??? It costs just forty bucks to get there”
“Illa Saar... if I put the meter on, it’ll come to around 70 rupees. I’ll have to come back all alone…”
I was wondering what that meant… “Come back all alone???” I wondered.
“No way … had ive traveled from here for the last 24 years of my life…”
“Illa saar... The petrol…”
“Boss u put the meter on… I’ll pay you ten bucks more than the meter reading.”
There was a brief argument after which he relented ……….
….or so I thought…
I sat in the auto rickshaw while the auto driver mumbled, “Software engineer anthe… ipatthu rupaai extra kodakkagalva...”
I ignored his taunts and listened to some good music on my walkman… I gradually forgot the entire struggle and began to feel a joy that can only be associated with Floyd...
Soon we reached the place I was supposed to get off.
One look at the meter ad I was like … “WHAT THE???????”
I have always been a regular traveller on that route but I’ve never ever seen the friggin meter show a whopping 80 bucks. There were times when I had paid 45 bucks and thought I had been fleeced… This was unreal man…
I got off the auto and took out 40 bucks and gave it to him. The guy took that and waited… I started walking… The fellow came after me and asked me to pay up…
I was NOT going to be taken for a ride again… literally and otherwise…
More Auto drivers… more abuses… more threats… finally a cop!!!!
The cop came and saw what was happening…
“Yellinda??”
“Sir Cox town inda...”
The cop looked at the driver.
“Cox town inda ishtu??? Yaako??”
I felt safer now…
There was a brief discussion where the cop spoke at length. Abused at length is more like it…
Finally the drivers left… each one of them giving me cold stares…
Then the surprise.. The cop waits for them to leave and asks me how much money I had…
I said, “Hundred and fifty saar”
“Fifty illi tallu…”
I freaked out… TOTALLY!!!!!!
I gave him a fifty and just walked away…
Some life!!!! Saved a 40 to shell out a 50…. Hmm….
4 comments:
Elly, im proud of u my boy!!! u actually took on an auto driver!! u r growing up to be a man at last..... but u paid the cop some money??? cheez.......when will u grow up?
P.S: i had to type in "nzbbaxxh" to ensure that i am not a bot...Grrrrr... u think a bot could understand what it means??
lol..you ventured into my locality kya?lol..small wonder the auto guy tried to rip you off..tried looking up cox town on the map..its not even mentioned..one of those reclaimed areas or something..
ha! ha!! :))
came here blog-hopping! nice post!
Came by thru Orkut! Good post - reminded me of my first visit to Bangalore last November. God, I hated those rickshaw-wallahs asking for obscene amounts of money for a short ride with the weirdest of excuses. One even told me that it was because of some flyover being constructed. Whatever that meant!
Makes me even more grateful to my good old Mumbai ricks :)
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