Mumbai woke up to torrential rains this morning
and just like it happens every year the maximum city was scampering for cover.
Flooded roads and water logged railway tracks. Overcrowded trains that halt in
the middle of nowhere, fewer buses that are jam-packed and auto and cab guys
who just zoom past (they don’t even want to listen to where you want to go)
makes travelling to your destination a harrowing experience.
My experience on this rainy day today was a wee bit
different though. I stay about 3.5km from my work place. As usual I left home
at 7.45am to make it to work on time . I got out of my housing society in
search for an auto. While I was getting drenched in this search and getting
refused by around 20 such autowallas, I knew exactly how this was going to turn
out. A cranky me waiting for another one hour, getting pissed at the whole
world and eventually reaching work physically and mentally exhausted. I thought
of taking the metro but when I came across a sea of water standing in the way I
just dropped that plan and continued with my search of the quintessential
autowalla. While this drama of getting rejected by autowallas was already an
hour into it, I just heard someone say “Madam, aapko kahaan jaana hai?”.
Looked around, saw this man peeping through the auto blinds
(Mumbaikars would know: during the monsoons most of the autos here are
flanked by blinds on both sides of the passenger seats that help the passengers
stay dry). He was not on the driver’s seat. Sitting behind and completely wet,
the man asked me for my destination again. I said “Sangam Talkies”. Without
thinking twice, he replied “Aa jaaiye aapko drop karte huye office chala
jaaunga”. The autowalla protested but the man persisted.
In this 20 minute auto ride with him, I realized that his
office was in a completely different direction than mine. It would take him
another half an hour to reach his destination. With the continuous phone
calls that he was getting, I could make out he was getting late to work. I saw
the roads were flooded. The autowalla says” Madam hamare auto kharaab ho jaate
hai Baarish mein.” Put things into perspective for me. While I cursed the auto
guys all along, this was a very valid argument for refusing to ply(atleast for
today). After reaching my destination, I thanked them both. Told the Samaritan
“Aajkal anjaano ko help karnewale bahut kam milte hai.” He replied “Madam ab
toh aap mujhe Sharminda kar rahi ho”.
Here’s presenting Ravi (the passenger/Samaritan) and
Mahesh(the autowalla) : Heroes of my Story.
P.S. They agreed to a photo-op at the end of the ride.
Despite all the problems in this city, all hope is not lost.
There still are people like these keeping Mumbai alive.
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