As I wrote in my previous post, I have been travelling a lot for my work. I sometimes feel like, i should not rent a house anymore in Mumbai, because maximum time I am in different cities. And during my travel the people I meet the most is auto walaas. Yes the green coloured Indian 3 wheeler Pilots are the people I interact the most during my travel. Well the funny things is, even though every Pilot is doing the same work, but the style, the attitude and the charges are different. Let me try to explain what i mean -
In Mumbai -
Stopping an auto - You just have to whistle, and for those who can't whistle, just make a sound like "pooch" and any auto guy, driving at any speed will stop for you. Very quick, they will just ask, where and then a nod. You have to be quick and sharp eyed to understand what that nod meant. It may be sit or may be a naah. There is a very thin line of difference in between both the signs, one is a slight turn of neck, right to left directing us to go inside the while a No is also a nod but a very quick movement to both side.
However if its a yes, then you don't have to argue how much money and blah blah. You pay metered charge as per the law.
In Bangalore -
You have to wave a big hand to stop them. No meter is fixed in the autos at all. You have to accept the fact and go with the wind. And these guys seem to only talk in multiple of hundereds. Any destination you say, they will say the charge in multiple of hundreds. You are not allowed inside the auto unless you are totally sure of the location. They want you to be sure where you want to go or else you will be hearing alot of kannada you don't know, if you get confused when you near the destination and you take time in locating the exact drop place.
Another key aspect is that even if you bargain and bring the price in an odd number (i.e. not in multiple of hundereds) you need to have the exact change to pay. Don't expect them to have change, so if you had to pay INR 70/- and you don't 70 with you, you end up paying INR 100/- because they won't be having loose cash. Very strategically they play their cards. ;-)
In Chennai -
Here they stop automatically, if you stand on edge of the road. Sometimes even if you are just standing, 2-3 autos may approach you. But these guys are also not less than their neighbours. Again similar to Bangalore, they don't use meter fare. Meter is just a decoration in their planes and you have to pay what they want. But still better as they agree in charging in odd numbers also, even if they begin with a hundered. Here you have to be very smart and you need to bargain alot. So if they say 100, you say 50 and then you close the deal by 70.
They are also up to date about the happenings around, so if you bargain alot on fare, they answer you "Yenna Saar, Petrol Embaadu ruwa..."
and when you say "What" with your confused expressions they reply "Petrol eighty rupees saar. This long, only one way, you go round and come." I still don't know, how many one ways chennai have. LOL
Secondly, whatever you do, even if you tell them you don't know Tamil, they will answer you in Tamil only. So brush up a bit of Tamil when you are there.
In Hyderabad -
Well these guys are a little better. They answer you in Hindi and also sometimes in english. You can talk to them while driving as he will update you about the locations around. He may enquire your full history, i.e. where you came from, where you want to go, have you seen hyderabad earlier and many more stuff. But still they are better people. I met a bunch of auto guys with whom I interacted. We spoke about stuff like biryanis, haleem and why foreigners come and click all these photos of autowalas, chaiwalas and beggars.
The only thing you have to do is to persue them to use the meter. The meter is fixed in the auto, but still when you ask for fare, they give you a number. Then you have to point your finger on the meter and then he might say, "Same hai saab." (It is same sir)
But if you insist again, they will put on the meter.
Another thing is, Hyderabadi auto guys keep their autos sophisticated. High backrest seats, good speakers, disco lightings inside. I travelled in one of them and while talking, I requested him to show me the speakers effect. And he played a telugu song of Allu Arjun sung by Adnan Sami.
But one thing is common in every autowala across the states of India. That they work hard, driving around the lanes in scorching sun, heavy rain or in bad health to earn for their family, carrying us, the stuff of ours and still in the end they have a smiling face most of the time.
Keep in mind about the attitudes when you are in these cities. Hope you guys may find it useful.
No comments:
Post a Comment