A WORTHWHILE AUTO RIDE......

Today again , I felt the same flow of thoughts going on inside me as has happened many times before whenever i travel within my city in an autorickshaw,which happens rare now.A sudden sense of concern and pity grips me tight and floods my mind till i reach the destination,after which ,ofcourse,it fades away because i am so preoccupied to think about it again.If the auto is filled with passengers to its full capacity,these thoughts dont dare make their way into my mind but if the auto i m travelling in is nearly devoid of passengers,just one or two of them, i start feeling bad for the autowallah.Most of the times,it so happens that i start putting myself into his shoes and what follows is a feeling of guilt and helplessness - that as a passenger,or let's say on the grounds of humanity,as a human being,i can't really help the autowallah in his quest for more passengers in his auto...

His eyes and his actions speak aloud his dire need to get more passengers to save himself some money from this ride,to make his both ends meet...The longingness and the restlessness as he drives past the other autos competing for every single passsenger,his eyes asking for a ride from every single person on the roadside,the frequent gaze that marks the approach of every single stoppage,the extinguishing hope that shows on his face as the end of the ride starts daunting him,the drop in his pitch or rather his determination as he calls for passengers at the stoppages say it all...I find it so easy to relate with his condition, somehow, and then arrive those vicarious feelings of what really can be done about it.And after much pondering ,i always conclude that the lack of education is the basic reason for this problem and many others that we overlook everyday amidst our busy and monotonous schedules.....But,the reality that stands upright among all odds is that millions of people who are fighting every single day for the bare necessities,face inadequacy and poverty heroically,though its very hard for them, but they have not surrendered and its their temerity and their undying spirits that keeps the nation moving.....obviously,other view could be of people dying because of hunger and malnutrition,but most of us have already been a witness to the gloomy side of the problems facing India today and we already know what to do but the problem lies only in implementation....And amidst a storm of thoughts like these invading my mind,i find myself hurrying down the auto,since my destination has arrived and i just leave all these thoughts till my next ride as i move out of the auto........A silent wish from my side that all his rides may be passenger packed ones as i pay him the money,and i find that familiar sound of the engine fade away as i gear myself up to cross the road......