Date : Somewhere in april 2006
Time : 3:05 PM
Mood : Tensed.
Me: Boss, got to leave now. Have a flight at 4:00 PM
Boss(trying hard to think): teek hain…call me once you touch down Bangalore.
Me: Ok…
That sounded like freedom. Had to rush. Was of course short of time. Picked up my luggage, and was literally sprinting to the exit, amusing the onlooker
Did Manage to find a lone rickshaw. Shouted at the driver- “airport… jaldi boss”. He shot back- “180 sir”. I was like…”what the…???”
Anyways was in a hurry, agreed for a lesser amount and jumped in.
Now comes the interesting part. As far as I can remember, I think I had one of the best conversations with a rickshaw driver.
First he was all silent, trying to keep up the traffic.(You can imagine traffic at that hour in Pune !!!)
He was maybe 50 or odd and obese.
I was poking him-.”Jaldi karo”.
He then looked back and started the conversation
Driver: Which flight ??
Me: Spice-jet.
Driver: I think kingfisher is better.
Me: Ya I know (surprised by now cos of his flawless English)
Driver: See I how fast I can drive.
Me: Ya thanks.
Driver: For which company do you work at sharda Center.
(Told him the damn name !!)
Driver: I think Infosys is good. You can try there
Me: Ya sure (Angry with myself now)
He went on to ask some personal and professional questions. All of this, in near to perfect English.
It took just 20 minutes to reach the airport, thanks to his amazing speed !!!. Reminded me of Alonso for once. There were some near misses which made me feel something in my mouth (you know whats that !!!).
As I was walking into the security-check area, the driver’s words were ringing in my ears.I was just telling myself- NEVER under-estimate anyone.
Looked like a learned guy. Don’t know under circumstances he ended up as a rickshaw driver.
Maybe that’s how life is. Being unfair sometime. Like there’s guy whose a cashier in a super-market. But is a MSc in CS !!!
Pretty sad, thanks to unemployment.
Im just happy that I have job that pays me and something that I like………Hey wait a minute….Do I really like my job ???? A question worth pondering about !!!!
I sometime really think, that I am no less than that rickshaw guy…..
