All sorts of thoughts race through your mind when you are stranded on the road, close to midnight. You wonder whether the unfolding drama is staged in any way and there is risk to your person or property. Ram Gopal Varma's movies (even his non horror films are a horror!) supply ample material for our fertile imagination to run riot so that every move is viewed with suspicion and every creak with fear! The weather didn't help soothe the nerves either- a stiff wind picked up and howled through the trees and soon made way for a lazy drizzle, so indicative of Bangalore.
After what looked an eternity, spent in distrust and nervous tension, an autorickshaw finally came our way. The driver exchanged a few words and swung his arms about in an animated manner with the other auto-driver.
I almost got a whiplash from a sudden jerk and a kick at the back. As I craned my neck and looked behind, a most bizarre sight presented itself. The driver of the other auto stuck one foot out and pressed it against the rear of our auto. As he drove his auto with the other foot, we were prodded along, much like a recalcitrant buffalo! All that my auto driver had to do was to stay on course by holding the steering. This strange cavalcade moved along quite nicely till we hit the petrol bunk. Our benefactor and his equally cooperative customer had done their good deed for the day and sped away with a wave and a flourish!
The driver had no money to pay for the petrol and required my help. I protested, but had little alternative but to pay upfront.
We were on our way once more when I noticed that the meter had not been turned on at all! "You are telling me now, after we've covered a good 10 kilometers that the meter is not on ?" the driver argued immediately. It appeared that a good offence was the best part of his defence! It ticked me off and I gave him a piece of my mind.
"Guru! Is it my responsibility to turn the meter on ? Who should be turning it on ? Didn't I insist multiple times at the station that I will pay only by the meter ? I know you folks very well. I am sure this is a deliberate ploy to hoodwink the gullible customer! Don't think I am new to..."
Not knowing the local language is a nuisance at these times. We are tongue tied and lack the fluency to put our point across forcefully... though in print now, it appears quite fluid! As we stutter and stammer to gather our words, the opponent gains the upper hand and makes us look meek and submissive!
In irritation, he turned the meter on and trailed away with some words which were lost on me. The meter rose to life like a phoenix and looked desperate to make up for lost time and money! The numbers rolled away at a frantic pace with the frenzy of a slot machine at Las Vegas. I was convinced that it was incrementing even when we briefly paused at the signal, but just didn't have the vocabulary to voice the concern!
I heaved a sigh of relief when a maze of lanes, by-lanes, dead-ends, T-junctions, round-abouts and forever construction-riddled streets eventually took us to Jayadeva Hospital. Roads were conspicuous by their absence! From Jayadeva, it is a drive all the way on Bannerghatta Road. Just when I thought that it's going to be a piece of cake from this point onwards, the driver was seized with a sudden fit of drowsiness and abruptly halted at the way-side tea stall. Tempers had cooled by now and at my expense, he helped himself to a puff of beedi and a steaming cup of tea. The indulgence wouldn't end and I wondered whether I would have to pay for his new pair of jeans should Shopper's Stop be open! Thankfully not.
Home at last! Now, for the tough part-
The meter had got stranded at 99, much like a batsman painfully run-out before he could get to his century. The contraption required a manual reset so that it could resume once more from zero, but that crucial point had been completely missed in all the excitement. Worse, the driver held me squarely responsible for not alerting him when the meter hit the nervous nineties!
Things had gone out of hand and had to be wrapped up quickly. I had paid him enough on the way. There was no way we could go by the meter reading any more. I handed him a fifty rupee note. He looked at it with some disbelief and refused to touch it. I tried to press him gently a couple of times by even placing the rupee in the crook of his elbow, but he wouldn't budge. "Guru! Tagoli! Take it! You can buy some sweets for your wife and kids!" I added with a supercilious air of generosity, but there was still no response.
I interpreted the reaction as some concession that he was allowing me for the trouble that I had endured. Jolly good fellow after all, in this time and age! I carefully put the note back in my wallet and walked away, happy as a lark, with a new spring in my steps!
Visibly enraged, the driver heckled and ran after me and held me by the collar. Evidently, I had completely misread the situation. He needed the fifty rupees and in fact my entire wallet! Tempers flared up and invectives were hurled at each other in our respective languages, incapable of hurting the other man! The quietness of the night was ruffled and thankfully alerted the security guard.
Now that the guard was by his side, Sugreeva's confidence was suddenly boosted! He cast his timid self away and could take on Vali and quite a few disgruntled auto-drivers as well! The dealings were finished in quick time. The outcome did not completely please either party, but then, that's life.
The iron gates creaked as the security guard let me in and bolted the gate.
P.S: This episode is largely based on a recent conversation with Bhaskar (friend, philosopher and guide for close to 20 years). I have used his narration with some of my observations. He even mentioned a technical name for the autorickshaw-cavalcade. I need to get that term from him to complete this narrative!
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