Seeing me with a large pack on my back they all turned around and examined me from head to my booted feet and in unison they waved their hands at me as though I was some public figure whom they all had long been expecting. Two among them came up and took me by the arms; that wasn’t comfortable at all. I told them to let go of my arms, to which they wouldn’t listen, then I repeated they still wouldn’t yield to my demand. When I shook off their hands they stepped back, as though sensing the anger, and the two returned to join the group. I said I wanted them to take me to the southern part of the city. They heard me clearly and no one seemed to be ready, instead they put their heads together and this time one person spoke as if they had just elected a group leader.
I thought to myself of the tomfoolery they were showing in the malicious manner and also of the loss they were seeking. They now looked pitiable with their little malicious game, not doing the hard-working job of taking a passenger to his or her destination and making the money they wanted without any trouble. On top of it what was more troubling was the fact that this was happening in the heart of the capital city of India.
The just-elected leader said one thousand rupees for the trip to south, I compared it with what I my friends had said how much it would be. It was multiple times higher than what my friends had told me, one hundred. I turned on my heels and was leaving the place but they all followed me as kids would follow Santa for candies. I had taken my plunge and had dug up what was there, so there nothing more that I should do. They followed and huddled around and again took me by the arms and they were aggressive this time. I shouted and gave them a bitter look, instantly they broke up like some scared kids and kept some distance at the same time forming a circle.
As I was wondering in my furious state what direction I should choose, a loud shrill voice came from behind. It was the voice of a short man in kurta. His hands flying in the air and the small round face thrust forward, and the whole body trembling while speaking, “your bastards have disgraced the place and people like me have to live with it. Haven’t you, for a moment, thought that something decent should be done to make this city a pleasant instead of making outsiders go home thinking they have been fucked by you all?” Looking at me he said, “Please follow me. I’ll talk to one near the main road.”
It was comforting to know that there was someone who was so spontaneous in dealing nuisance like that though the language was rather disturbing. The man who was going to drive me was rather lean and appeared morose. On one corner of his lips he had a cigarette each time he spoke the words came out with clumps of smoke. He said nothing, only drove on with his eyes on the road ahead and the smoke rising and creating some sort of a white halo around his head and then a thin sheet before disappearing. There weren’t many vehicles on the road. He drove on for fifteen minutes and when he stopped he turned side way and lifted one hand to point at one dilapidated building, which must have been dark green at some point, next to a large multi-storey glass building. I was certain that my friend couldn’t afford to live in the either of the building. The man was pointing at some hardly visible alley between the two buildings. I asked if he could drive in, he didn’t look nor did he give me an instant answer; his eyes were fixed on the alley. The right hand was lifted and it took the cigarette and smacked the lips and nodded his head indicating it was alright with him.
When we got closer to the modern glass building I could see the names of multinational companies on a wide board standing in front of the building. The dilapidated was empty and it bore the sign of being emptied recently, probably it would be pulled down for another glass building. From the dusty road littered with waste papers and plastic bags he cut in and rolled over the newly-constructed cemented road with kerb stones and caged young saplings. Being awed by the area and the neatness of it I told myself that the city had indeed come a long way and so much was happening to make the progress possible.
Between the buildings stood some security guards with black clubs dangling from their narrow belted waists. Each time they saw a car they jumped on their feet to salute, when the auto rickshaw rolled up one among them whistled and it swept over the whole area and I, for a while, thought something grave had just happened. He walked up and asked where we were going, his inquisition was met by the driver’s taciturn responses. He wasn’t gratified and for that displeasure he was willing to flex his muscles, and this required me to intervene. He kept on saying few irrelevant English words he knew repeatedly and when I spoke to him in the language he was parroting he gave me a quizzical look and then turned over his right shoulder with a smile on his face to call out his peers. The pack released a meaningless giggle and signaled to the driver to go. While driving furthered into the alley he swung his head and one hand waved vigorously and in this process the ash atop the cigarette, which was clipped between the index and middle fingers, fell. He was vexed but he was still mindful of his business.
To be continued......................
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