jonathan/ferguson

i left early this morning in order to reach class on time. for once. somedays i have a hard time catching autos. either they’re occupied. they just won’t stop for me. they don’t want to go where i need them to take me. or they won’t go for a fair price. i’ve waited 30 minutes before. walking to nearby intersections to try and catch them from all directions. eventually i always find one. one who will go where i am going. one who’s honest or at least reasonable.

so this morning i waited for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 minutes…nothing. there were people ahead of me down the street trying to catch them too. which is never good. you need to be first in line or you’ll never get one. they’ll always be full when they reach you. but i realized the autos today weren’t stopping for them either, even though they were empty. on top of that, only a few actually drove by.

after walking a kilometer in the drizzling rain, i finally found an auto who explained to me in hindi that the autowalas were on strike for two days. apparently they’re protesting the police’s attempt to crack down on illegal licenses and paperwork. the unions claim that if an autowala has any license and/or paperwork, regardless of the source, it should be valid. legality is so overrated. perhaps i should start printing licenses for a small fee. and i’m great at producing and pushing paperwork.

ok, i got my explanation. but i was too far from the bus stop now, so it was luck by chance when an empty taxi stopped. he didn’t bother acknowledging the meter and i didn’t bother mentioning it. this was their lucky day. he wanted rs. 150. a horrific ripoff. i gave him rs. 100. a ripoff. by this point i had already missed one class. i arrived an hour late. and rs. 75 overcharged.

returning home was just as bad. my school is near nizamuddin railway station, but all the taxis and autos who were driving refused to go anywhere for less than triple the normal price. even the cycle rickshaws were charging double. so i finally carpooled with another guy (who thought i was kashmiri) in a cycle to the nearest bus stand. there i pushed my way on to the 405, which i’ve avoided since the thermostat hit 100. it was absolutely terrible. and i was absolutely proud i did it.

it was possibly the most crowded bus i have ever been on, standing or sitting or whatever it was i was doing. people pushing from every side, in my lap, behind me. crammed everywhere there was a space and everywhere there wasn’t. safety officials in america would wet their pants. which is partly why i love doing it. it’s so not “safe” and ensures a guaranteed paranoia attack for the rational westerner. but i made it home in 15 minutes and paid only rs. 4. so it was worth the dripping sweat and provided a blog entry. plus made up for my overpayment this morning.

tomorrow, day two of the strike, will be a for sure bus ride. no अगर,
और, or लेकिन about it.