Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Autorickshaws and Liberty
What do aoturickshaws have to do with liberty, one might ask. A lot, actually! Just a few days back i was returning home from East Delhi in an auto with a female friend who had not been on autos that much - and the excitement on her face was palpable! She must have mentioned this seemingly insignificant piece of information to each of the 6-7 friends she recieved a call from - it was quite funny. We lead such a protected, glass-covered life that even one little trip in an auto on our own is a statement of our independance. Not for me so much - all the years of travelling on my own, haggling over the fare and beating the sun and the dirt has somewhat diminished my feelings of liberty and freedom [:-)] but nevertheless, it does give you a sense of control and responsibility. And its the same for all my other girlfriends - most of them are driven everywhere by their parents - i guess it does become a little stifling...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hello!
I remember I was in 8th standard when I first went thru this most quintessential of activities of life in delhi, catching an autorickshaw or ricky (risky?!) as I now refer to them in my monthly expenses worksheet. Its a nice feeling, seriously! I'm glad you brought it up.
Come to think of it, the whole rigmarole - waiting by the road, spotting a vacant one before the others do, yelling 'auto!' unselfconsciously and showing just the right amount of disgust at the astronomical figure he quotes.....
I tell you Manjari, once you perfect this crazy little routine, you can handle pretty much anything the mean streets can throw at ya!
Incidentally even i took my first auto in 8th standard!
:-)
(much before my elder sister - and she was always a little irritated of me because of this!)
Post a Comment