Mumbai ka Auto

Autos are the best mode of public transport in Mumbai, after the local trains. They are quick, efficient and aggressive. Most perfect for Mumbai traffic. Inside an auto one feels like the King of the Road. Every other vehicle yields to the auto's sly tricks and stunts. The auto never stays in one place long enough. No traffic jam can hold it still, it will always twist and turn and meander its way through stalled or moving traffic and be the first to zoom out of a mass of vehicles! So liberating! 'Course, had I been in any of the vehicles neighboring an auto, I would have a different story to tell. But that's not important.

The auto imbibes its spirit from the auto wala! The auto walas in Mumbai, are rock stars. They are intelligent, hard working and extremely conscientious. You can be new to the city and board an auto with no worry in the world of getting lost. You can be old to Mumbai and expect to discover quicker routes to getting to your destination. The auto wala will turn on the meter, take the shortest, most efficient, traffic-free route, without charging a penny more and/or making grumpy faces! Something quite alien to auto walas in cities like Dilli, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore! Especially Bangalore! I wish I could parcel auto walas from Bangalore to the Mumbai auto walas, for a crash course in etiquette and sense of duty.

Speaking of sense of duty. During the Mumbai floods, both in 2005 and 2004, and during the local train serial bomb blasts in 2006, one had to experience the service rendered by the auto wala community to really believe it.

When the public transport was worst affected and there was panic amongst people, autos continued plying till it was absolutely impossible to carry on in the rain water. During the bomb blasts, locals had stopped and busses were off the roads. There were thousands of people on the roads, with no mode of transport to avail. It was the autos that took on as many passengers as there was room for and dropped each one off to safety. Mind you, for no extra money. It was moving and inspirational to see such spirit.

There is a strange sense of pride and belonging amongst the people for its city, which makes Mumbai stand apart. There is no doubt that other metros, their culture and people have a long way to go before becoming a cosmopolitan city in the true sense, before becoming Mumbai.

Being a cosmopolitan city, is not merely about the standard of living, infrastructure, population and other such tangible statistics. Its about all of this and that little something more that Mumbai and its people have. The sense of oneness and pride, that gives them joy and hope to work towards a common mission of being happy as individuals, and as a people, amongst all the strife, rush, crowd, poverty, sorrows and day to day issues.

Mumbai, is the entertainment hub not only because it houses Bollywood, but because there is entertainment ingrained in every aspect of life in Mumbai! Definitely in autos too. While hailing an auto, most people would first mention their destination. We would first ask"Bhayya, radio hai? ".

Wizened to the needs of their clients, the default setting in most Mumbai autos, would be a powerful stereo system. In a row of autos, the one with the most interesting music would lure us in! Radio Mirchi would play and we would "dhin chik dhin chik dhin chik..." all the way home! Such joy!

In those days songs by Himesh Reshammiya, from the Salman Khan starrer 'Tere Naam' were a big hit. I absolutely loved the "Odhni odh ke naachoon"song from the movie. Apparently so did the auto walas. On several auto rides, the song has played and we never got tired of tapping our feet, bobbing our heads and singing along! The auto wala even honked to beat sometimes! Such camaraderie!

One evening, after a dreadful day at work, I got into the first auto that came along, and sullenly sat making mental notes of names to add to my "To KILL List". I was plotting on carrying a bazooka to work the next day to blow off some people from the face of the planet, better still drive a G10 over them and plaster them to the tarmac. I felt so morose and angry, I was sinking deeper and deeper into the seat, with tears welling in my eyes.

As if sensing my state, my fairy god mother, the auto wala cranked up the radio.

"Dekha hai pehli baaaaaaaar, Saajan ki aankhon main pyaaaaaar.....tanka chakan tanka chakan........" bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz "Click "
"Maine Odhni odhli yaaaar, ke dil pardesi ho gayaaaaaaa....dhin chak dhin chak dhin chak dhin chak...... "

Intuitively he stayed on the song, my favorite, our favorite! I was tapping my feet, bobbing my head, singing between sobs, we were zipping through traffic, the wind was in my hair, the ugliness of the day was left behind and life was back to normal again!!

I love the auto rides in Mumbai!