It was a Friday evening. I was
just about to leave from my office when I got call from my Bhaiya. I
spend most of my weekends at bhaiyas's place. It gives me a
family feeling while staying away from home. It's heartwarming. This Friday was
also one of those Fridays where Bhaiya invited me to his place. The plan
was ad-hoc so I had to first go to my RENTED ACCOMMODATION to pick-up my
belongings. I reached my PG and was packing my backpack when it started raining
heavily. I waited for around 15 minutes hoping that the water in the sky tanks
would finish but sadly that wasn't happening. Then I finally decided to step
out in the rain with my umbrella as my savior. I walked in the heavy rain so
that I could catch an auto which would eventually drop me at the metro station.
I finally reached the highway and there came an auto, it stopped in front of me.
I asked the auto driver,
"How much till Huda City Center?"
Auto driver replied, "90
Rupees sir."
It came as a shock to me.
"90 Rupees!", I said, "Are you out of your mind? It takes 50
bucks till Huda City Center. Do you think I am new here?"
Auto driver replied, "Sir
it’s raining! The roads are flooded! What to do?"
I said, "Then what? 60 are
fine."
Auto driver was not happy with
the deal but he somehow agreed on the condition that he would take one more
passenger if he gets one on the road. I was fine with this and we moved.
The roads were really flooded
and I was thinking that what the fuck is wrong with our government? Where the
public money is going if a 30 minutes rain can flood the roads? While I was
busy acting a responsible citizen on the backseat of the auto the auto driver
found one more passenger on the side of the road. He stopped. The person was a
dark complexioned guy and was completely wet in the rain.
He asked the auto driver,
"Metro?"
Auto driver replied, "50
Rupees sir."
He said, "No! 40."
I was surprised to see that
even in that condition the guy was arguing for 10 bucks. Anyhow the auto driver
agreed and that person joined me on the back seat. I looked at the guy and he
looked like a Tamil guy. I have a lot of love and respect for Chennai and its
people. I wanted to hold myself but I failed and finally asked him,
"Where are you from?"
He replied, "Chennai."
Wow! This is what I wanted to
hear. There was a sudden shine on my face. May be the Tamil guy was a little
baffled by my reaction but that didn't affect me in any way.
I still continued with the
conversation, "Hi! I am Ambuj. What's your name?"
"Rajkishan.", He said.
I again threw a question at
him, "Where do you live in Chennai?"
"Tambram.", He
replied.
I said, "Oh... Chennai is
a beautiful place; I was working in Chennai for around 3 years. I love the
place and the people."
This made the conversation a little
light for Rajkishan and he started taking interest in the conversation.
"So where were you working
there?” Rajkishan said.
I quickly replied "I was
working with Standard Chartered Bank."
Talking about my previous
employer made me feel so proud. This started our actual conversation. We spoke
about our jobs, our salaries, the Gurgaon weather, our families, Chennai, Delhi
and lot many things.
We were about 5 minutes away
from the metro station when we got stuck in the traffic. I and Rajkishan decided
to walk to the station rather than sitting and waiting. I had an umbrella so we
both shared it and reached the station. It was a pleasant meeting. We both were
happy that we spoke and thus we made our final pleasantries and parted ways.
The conversation just lasted
for 20-25 minutes but it made me so happy and made me think about that person
while travelling in the metro. It is so strange that the people with whom we
spend a few minutes touch our lives so closely whereas sometimes we don't even
speak to certain people whom we have known from years. Life is short; we should
talk to people, make friends, and make good memories because this is all that
matters. After-all we are nothing but social animals.
by Ambuj...
