I got out of the salon in Himayathnagar, after spending Rs.650 on grooming activities. I was feeling very good that I was finally spending money on extensive grooming, having shunned it all through college. I was, after all, embarking on this very exciting yuppie life. So, in my desperate attempt to get out of the sun and pollution as soon as possible and get home, I flagged an auto down. In an irritated tone asked the Autowallah if he would go to Taj Krishna’s vicinity.
He quoted a Rs.50 fare, I tried to haggle, and asked him to turn the meter on. He said “The meter is kaput, it’s jumping”.
We reached liberty crossroads and he started talking. “My son, he finished inter 1st year. He is doing CEC (Civics-economics-commerce), how is this CEC? Is it any good?”
I said, yeah it is pretty good. (Well, it is known to be better than the worst option out there – HEC (history-economics-commerce), although, I am not sure how this is the worst).
“He wants to be a chartered accountant”.
“That’s good. My dad is a chartered accountant”.
“Does he earn well? Where does he work?”
“He works in the US. Yeah he earns well”.
“Does he earn a few lakhs per month?”
[After completing a mental calculation of salary conversions] “Yes he earns a handful amount of lakhs per month. How did your son do in inter 1st year exams?”
“Oh, he didn’t do that well. He got 306/500 marks, so, around 61%. He is writing ‘improvement’ exams. He is hoping to get a 30-40 mark improvement.”
“Oh ok. How many kids do you have? Are you the only bread-winner?”
“I have four kids. This one is the eldest. I have two sons, one in 9th and 6th, a daughter in 3rd. Yes I am the only one that works. I rented this auto, so I pay 250 Rs in rent every day and Rs. 250 for fuel. I save around 200-300 at the end of the day.”
After discussing various topics such as, the weather in the US, if people travel around a lot, vacation spots, we discussed religion. Yes. That’s right.
“Do you go to church there?”
(Thinking it was one of those million times when people mistake me for a Tamil Christian) I said, “haha, I am Hindu.”
“Did you ever read the Bible?”
“But yes, I did read some parts of the Bible; I went to a Christian missionary school.”
“Oh, I was Hindu too. But Bible is good. You should read the Bible.”
“hehe ok.”
Impulsively, I give him 70 rupees and a big smile. He smiles back and I walk home with several questions about how a family of six lives on Rs.6000-10000 per month, and the topics the Autowallah brought up. The topics he brought up are the ones that occupy his mind, I would think. It ranged from his ambitions for his son to dollar dreams to religion.
C’est la vie.
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