“To C. R. Park,” I said to the old auto driver. I was waiting outside Hauz Khas village looking for a way to get back. But Ola’s servers were down.
“80, madam?” he asked, a trifle warily.
I hopped in and we sped off towards C. R. Park. An Ola car trip was double the cost but I was protected against wind and cold. Also, I was trackable. But here I was, riding around in an auto in Delhi whether I liked it or not. I wasn’t planning to take any risks in the city because my late father, good old Daddykins, was watching from heaven. He had all but lost faith in Delhi and the center during the events preceding his demise. Had he been alive, I would not have been allowed to gallivant in this old capital city on my own.
Five minutes before my auto rickshaw was due to arrive at my apartment, something happened that made me wish Daddykins were alive so I could tell him a little story that would put a glow in his cheeks.
As we approached a sloping left turn into a main road, the auto driver put out his left foot just so. He rested it on the back of the trailer that was being hand-pulled at the turn by a man on a cycle rickshaw. The man was now out of his seat and pulling the weight with all of his bodily might. For a few minutes, my driver rode alongside the trailer pushing it with his foot just so the cyclist would get a breather. We went over the hump. The auto-driver took off his leg. I clapped.
“The man was hauling tiles, madam,” he said.
“Yes, they must be very heavy,” I said. He nodded. Seconds later, I said, in English: “That was really nice of you.”
He laughed. “You know, madam, we’ve been born into this world as human beings. Old or rich, when we can offer a little help to someone, we must.” He paused to brake as a car swerved in front. “To such a man a little push is like being offered water when you're dying of thirst.”
That is so true! Across India, you always come across the disadvantaged and the burdened who go out of their way to offer just that little something that can ease somebody else's pain and misery ... glad you penned that, Kalpana ...
Nice write up and story which I can relate to. Though, lately all I hear are bad things about the city I grew up in, it is heartwarming to hear of instances like this about the city. When I started reading this passage, my initial reaction was “oh No.”. However I have come across people with good heart all over the place and especially in Delhi on my visits now. Thanks for sharing this positive instance.