Meeting the 'Aam Aadmi'...

I was assigned a project in my University. Being a Media student I had to talk to the Auto drivers in the city and present a report in their angle. I interviewed many of them…a few co-operated; a few didn’t. It was one experience I’ll remember all my life. For the first time I was asked to go there and do something which not everyone would think of. The term ‘Aam Aadmi’ has over the years lost its true meaning. Everyone is an aam aadmi these days. Politicians use it everyday. Journalists use the term to describe anyone who does not belong to the Upper Class. But, I’m happy I met the REAL ‘aam aadmi’. Auto driver is the one who serves everyone without getting any credit whatsoever. All that he gets is the meter money with reluctance. No gratitude, not enough support from the Government either.

The day I entered the University for my Graduation I couldn’t connect to the crowd there. A few call it a culture shock. I’m not too sure as to what that means though. One thing I never liked was the hugs and kisses everywhere. Some hundred hugs a day and a few kisses blown to each other is a common sight in the campus. I always found it pointless. I still don’t get the idea behind it. Why do you have to hug and kiss people when there’s no special occasion whatsoever? I wonder! But when I met the auto drivers, I truly felt like giving a ‘jaadu ki jhappi’ to all of them. They were a wonderful lot. A 65 year old Iyengari was trying to explain to me how it feels to OWN an auto. I could see in his eyes he was happy with his life. 40-45 years of experience in driving auto. Woah! That’s something that people of this generation would like to learn – sticking on to one profession all your life.

One encounter in particular interested me more than any other. We all know that the number of farmers is on a decrease. I met one auto driver who had given up on farming to settle down in Bengaluru. He comes from a place called Mandya near Mysore. He came to Bengaluru to earn a living. There was drought in Mandya which lasted more than 8 years and his father couldn’t support the huge family. That was when our auto driver worked as a room boy somewhere in the city. Later he went on to drive auto for others and now he owns an auto. He now has two children who go to Government schools. He is happy that his children are getting what he couldn’t – square meals a day and education! There's a lot to learn from people like them, isn't it? The moment I heard the story, I was touched. We are indeed a privileged lot. We should be thankful to God for all that he has given us.