There was this one particular sign board on the way down to Siliguri from Darjeeling that read,
“It is better to be late, Mr. Sharma than to be Late Mr. Sharma”.
Every single time I get onto an auto in Kolkata, I only wish the autowallah has seen something similar. Now I may sound over the edge with this one but trust me, this is one experience that can only be felt in good old Kolkata.
I have travelled quite a lot (courtesy Dad taking me around every year) in the southern part of our country and hence have been to most of the major cities there- Chennai, Hyderabad, etc. and of course my home town for the past four years- Bengalooroo. But nowhere have I seen a transport system as unique as the one in Kolkata. Autos in Bangalore would be taxis here and vice versa.
I have been here for a month now, working as a summer intern and I believe one month is decent amount of time for understanding a place better. I came with certain beliefs about Bengalis, the corporate world and Kolkata. The first two, as expected were mostly right but I must say Kolkata has offered things I had never expected, and right at the top of that list is travel.
I’ll leave the best for the end. Let’s start with the Metro rail. Very cheap, Swift, Good frequency of service but always crowded. I barely managed to force myself into a metro yesterday morning. I was late for office and this was the fastest way. I had experienced the rush previously but yesterday it was literally crazy. More than a thousand people were squeezed in together so tight I couldn’t even expand my lungs completely. And do you know what the irritating part is (I found it really funny though)? People were asking me to move aside, so that they could pass through. I looked around and then looked back at them. They didn’t say anything else, embarrassed by the stupidity of their impossible request. But on the brighter side, I tried to find an alternative way of getting to office today and guess what? It is easier and faster. Thank God!
Back to our Autowallahs. I know from my experiences in Bangalore that they are a rare breed. A community who leave their fear of death at home (and perhaps their intelligence and common sense too) and ride like there’s no tomorrow. The fiercest of them, however, live here, in Kolkata because nothing has ever scared me the way every auto ride here does. Perhaps it’s the fear of falling off the front seat (where 4 people impossibly cramp in), or the disc brake styled stops they take from unauto like speed but whatever it may be, travelling in Kolkata is definitely an experience of a different kind.
