When I went to Kolkata for my entrance exams, I stayed with a friend’s family. The first day there, Uncle took me in a cycle rickshaw. He warned me, “Don’t pay more than 8 rupees to these rickshaw-wallahs. They’ll charge you anything. They know you don’t come from Calcutta.”
I listened and nodded and cringed as the rickshaw-wallah bumped us over steep slopes and potholes. His lungi was torn. He was barefoot.
Uncle dropped me at the university and went home.
To get home myself, I diffidently approached a cycle rickshaw. If I knew my way home, I know I would simply have walked. “Golf Green?” I asked, hopefully.
The man lowered his eyes. Realising I definitely did not speak Bangla, he said for me in Hindi, “Bees (20) rupaya.”
I nodded gratefully. I cringed and clenched my hands as he laboured all the way home.
When I reached, Uncle asked how much I paid.
“Eight rupees,” I said, meekly.
“Very good!” Uncle approved. “Good girl!”
I blushed guiltily.
When I went to Amritsar I had to get down from the cycle rickshaw and push along up the slope. The man was feeling terrible and I was like, “Wohoo, Once more!”
The first time I saw the cycle rickshaw was in Jaipur (Kimmie and I had gone for field work). We got out of the railway station and had to find the bus station. The easiest way to find directions in India is to sit in an auto and act authoritatively. However, it was so close we were told that only cycle rickshaw would go. I remember we cringed every time the wheels turned for those 5-10 minutes.
I know exactly what that’s like. More than that in my single experience of a pulling rickshaw. Despite everyone’s arguments about the fact that they have no other source of income, I could never sit in a pulling rickshaw again.
By the way, Sabah, I’m still waiting for the other travel story that you promised me!
Dear Varsha,
This is Sreejas aunt at B’lore. Papa is with me and he was mighty thrilled when my sister(Sreejas mom) read this extract out to him day before yesterday. He said,’It feels so nice that old people like us are still remembered by today’s generation.Convey my thanks and blessings to her.’
Hello! Thank you so much. And please tell Sreeja’s grandparents that they will always be special for me. They made me feel warm and loved in a new city. 🙂