So here I was today morning, walking in the bright hot sun, slowly yet kicking up a dust storm and impatiently chewing at my lips and thereby having lipstick for breakfast.
It is an auto strike and therefore I was forced to walk a few hundred meters and catch a bus. Yes, I am now in advanced stages of Lazy Bum-ness.
My trysts with Auto-wallas has left me with mixed opinions about their clan. There are the good and the bad, the smooth talkers and the ruffians, the honest and the liar and the ones who demand and the ones who beg. Quiet recently I was ditched by two autos in the same evening. The first left me stranded halfway quoting technical difficulties and the second charged me extra extra for no extra effort by him. Since my Jhansi -ki-Rani avatar had gone on a holiday, I turned in to Little-Bo-Peep and paid up.
When in Chennai, I abhor the idea of having to hail an auto to go somewhere. I'd rather travel in an crowded bus than bargain with that slimy auto-driver. When in Bangalore, I would have to repeat my destination to many autos and risk myself a strained voice and neck before finally one agrees. If luck be my side his meter would be correct and i'd be sparred with a confrontation when getting off. Most evenings, Luck would be in the driving seat leaving me to fend for myself.
Chennai : Auto = Criminal Daring Looters.
Bangalore : Auto = Masters of the Art of saying "NO". (Outcast students of Art of Living?? I wonder!)
There are a few (understatement) BAD memories associated with autos and bet everyone who has ever boarded one would have. And succumbing to the Educated and Decent class expectations, it is I who usually bows down and pays up. One really good memory though. An Angel in disguise helped me and my friends get home when we were stuck some place late evening and the roads leading out were jammed.
But that can't be claimed to be an exception amongst these meanies, because it was a Private Auto.
All said and done, boon or bane I depend heavily on their services. I am actually pretty thankful to the fact that the autos at Bangalore ply with a Meter and I can know what I am being charged.
Finally before saying "The End", I'd like to say "Thank you and Have a Nice Ride back Home"
It is an auto strike and therefore I was forced to walk a few hundred meters and catch a bus. Yes, I am now in advanced stages of Lazy Bum-ness.
My trysts with Auto-wallas has left me with mixed opinions about their clan. There are the good and the bad, the smooth talkers and the ruffians, the honest and the liar and the ones who demand and the ones who beg. Quiet recently I was ditched by two autos in the same evening. The first left me stranded halfway quoting technical difficulties and the second charged me extra extra for no extra effort by him. Since my Jhansi -ki-Rani avatar had gone on a holiday, I turned in to Little-Bo-Peep and paid up.
When in Chennai, I abhor the idea of having to hail an auto to go somewhere. I'd rather travel in an crowded bus than bargain with that slimy auto-driver. When in Bangalore, I would have to repeat my destination to many autos and risk myself a strained voice and neck before finally one agrees. If luck be my side his meter would be correct and i'd be sparred with a confrontation when getting off. Most evenings, Luck would be in the driving seat leaving me to fend for myself.
Chennai : Auto = Criminal Daring Looters.
Bangalore : Auto = Masters of the Art of saying "NO". (Outcast students of Art of Living?? I wonder!)
There are a few (understatement) BAD memories associated with autos and bet everyone who has ever boarded one would have. And succumbing to the Educated and Decent class expectations, it is I who usually bows down and pays up. One really good memory though. An Angel in disguise helped me and my friends get home when we were stuck some place late evening and the roads leading out were jammed.
But that can't be claimed to be an exception amongst these meanies, because it was a Private Auto.
All said and done, boon or bane I depend heavily on their services. I am actually pretty thankful to the fact that the autos at Bangalore ply with a Meter and I can know what I am being charged.
Finally before saying "The End", I'd like to say "Thank you and Have a Nice Ride back Home"
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