Delhi, the capital of India, here just like any other metro-city if anyone has to go from one point to another then that individual can choose from many transport options. The Delhi-ite only has to do a quick viability study of the distance and which mode would be the best cost effective choice because we the middle class people of Delhi have an inbuilt need to save a rupee wherever, whenever and however we can.
So, I saw yellow-green big insect kind of looking
automobile, yes, it was a CNG auto. With the increasing pollution in Delhi, a
decision was made by the previous governments to deploy CNG in public transport
system. And pollution was indeed curbed a bit. And then came 2014 and this city
became the most polluted city of the world leaving behind many of its
competitors. The auto was a scooter that had a windshield, roof and a meter.
And even though it was equipped with a fare meter one has to always ask for the
fare journey because not going by the meter has been closely associated with
this mode of transport.
The auto was parked in the so called auto stand and my journey
was about to begin but suddenly a dog came from nowhere. The dog was the friend
of the auto driver and none of them wanted to let each other go. The driver
asked me to wait for a while in the auto. He then went and came back with a
small packet of biscuits. Here I must clarify that they were not dog biscuits,
which only some privileged could afford for their pets, it was just normal and
cheap biscuits. The driver opened the biscuit packet and started to feed them
to his friend. The dog was fine, and did not look at all like the other street dogs
that you’d find around. The dog had its own attitude. He would not eat the
biscuits if the driver threw them on the ground; the driver had to feed him the biscuits
one by one. And the dog made sure never to bite the feeding hand. And after all
this feeding the driver finally said goodbye to his friend, as the driver had
to earn his bread because no one would feed him if he won’t work for it.
And so the journey began. As I was coming back from an
interview, the driver inquisitively asked from where I was coming all dressed
up in formals? In Delhi, the auto drivers are always the conversational
friendly people. They can start and talk on any topic, be it social, political
or even economical. And I think that with so much everyday travelling through
the city one gets closer to understanding what the problem areas are and what
the current burning issues are. And this driver was no less. He started to talk
about the education sector. As he spoke I got to know that he passed his tenth
standard in 1971, he was fluent in three languages Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit, he
remembered all the divisibility rules and most importantly he knew the vedic
calculation techniques as well. About his math proficiency I was a bit skeptical at
first. But then he started to give examples, he was calculating in his mind while
driving. And I like a fool was doing calculations on my mobile phone.
Now, at this stage the obvious question that came to my mind
was that why didn’t he study further? Why such a skill full man who is good at
both, language and math still driving this auto rickshaw. So, I asked him these
questions. Now I felt like I was the interviewer, but I was also aware of the
fact that this interviewee’s work experience was more than my age itself.
Family responsibility was the reason because of which he gave up studies. He
said he was the youngest amongst his brothers and his father passed away when
he was just fifteen. But here he played the role of an elder brother; he started
working so that his brothers could pursue higher education, a true sacrifice.
As I reached my destination a smile ran across my face as to how much positive
this man was about life. We as human often tend to get upset over small and
mediocre things of life, but here is a man full of life enjoying spirits. And I
don’t care whether or not he was fluent in languages that he mentioned earlier; all I
cared was that he conveyed the most important messaged to me, to be positive in
life no matter how tough life is, to be compassionate to fellow beings no
matter how tight your financial situation is.
But what do I know, my mind is full of thoughts and I am
still stuck at the question that what is the motivating force with which can
one be happy and positive even in a state of despair?
Photo Credits-Simran Bakshi (@simbakshi)
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