The Rickshaw Driver

‘United we stand, Divided we fall’. It’s a line that we have been hearing for ages. I saw that first hand in my recent trip to Bengaluru.

As we got into a rick at BTM Layout to go to Race Course, I braced myself for an uncomfortable ride in the Bengaluru traffic and pollution. Add to it that the rick driver was a budding schumacher, made matters really worse for the bad back that I was carrying.

Somewhere in the middle of the journey, I saw another rick had broken down and the driver was pushing it hoping to find a garage. The Schumacher guy (my rick driver) stopped and asked the other driver about his problem. After a few exchanges in Kannada, he placed his rick at a strategic angle and put his left leg out on the back of the broken down rick. He then pushed that rick for almost 20 minutes through the horrific and unrelenting Bengaluru traffic. He risked his leg (and more) to help another driver whom he did not even know. He was at a risk of losing his leg due to uneven road, bumps, sudden brakes, people crossing and the two wheelers snaking through the traffic. Irrespective, he kept pushing. He kept pushing so that the other guy could reach somewhere near the garage, get his rick fixed and move on to earn his livelihood.

This was yet another simple incident that strengthened my belief in the inherent goodness within people. Probably we should stop building walls and start building bridges.

P.S - Just to put perspective - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizZeYvH3VI (this is not videoed by me)

Sin Free 4.0 – Tirupati

14 months after Sin Free 3.0 I realized that my sins have reached dangerous levels and they might get back to me. It was high time to get rid of all them so that I can have a clean slate and start my ‘paaps’ all over again! So it was a trip to Tirupati again and this time I had 2 of my dearest friends along for company.

We left Bangalore on May 20, 2011 @ 19:30 hours and the bus reached next day at 01:15 am. The journey was uneventful with my friends sleeping like logs while me not even getting a minute of sleep. After refreshing ourselves, we boarded the state transport that took us to the top of the mountain in an exciting 45 minute ride. By 3.30 am we had joined the line for the darshan and at the exact moment of 5:00 am on May 21, 2011 I became SIN FREE.

I have started a new sin a/c again and would need to make Sin Free 5.0 – Tirupati sometime next year. So till then … tension nako … paap karte raho bhaiyya !!

Good Job BMTC VayuVajra

Most of us who have travelled through the new Bengaluru Airport agree that we are capable of building world class infrastructure. But building the infrastructure was never the problem. The problem is supporting that infra with facilities all around so that people truly enjoy the world class airport. I had a firsthand experience of these support services last weekend when I landed at the Bengaluru International Airport.

As I got down from the aircraft at 22:50 hours, I made a mad scramble to the exit as the last bus (BIA 11) that was supposed to take me to the city left at 23:00 hours. Unfortunately I lost the race and the bus had left by the time I made it to the bus depot.

I checked with the employees at the depot and they put me in another bus (BIA5). They said that they would call the driver of the bus that I just missed and tell him to wait. And they really did. The bus I missed was waiting for me 30kms away as I travelled in BIA 5. Needless to say I was truly impressed by the co-ordination that we are so not used to by the government run agencies. Add to it that the drivers and support staff are extremely polite and helpful, the buses neat and clean it makes the travel to the city less painful. All in all, a good job done … BMTC.