This one's a personal experience.
So I'm waiting for a bus back from my guitar class, to get home. These buses aren't very frequent. One every fifteen minutes, or something, and it takes near an hour, sometimes an hour and a quarter, to get home by bus at that time of day.
So I'm waiting for over a half hour, and I decided to spend some money, and grab an auto home, or I might as well be getting home the next morning. Standing on the side of the road, at rush hour isn't a very enjoyable experience, but necessity is the father of all... necessity. Hence I was standing on the side of a road during rush hour. After getting yelled at, spat on, and plain ridiculed for how far away my house was, one kind soul offered to take me home.
Hurdle number one successfully cleared.
Now came the haggling over price.
(Note - Conversation has been translated into english, and has been embellished somewhat)
"How much do you want to take me home?"
"150"
"150? My dear man, you're out of your mind. I'll give you a hundred."
"A hundred? You poor misguided soul. Have you seen the traffic? You'll be lucky if you get home alive. 150"
"No. I've only got a 120. I'll give you a hundred and ten."
"You're going home, so you can go in and get some cash. 150."
After another five minutes of inventing excuses and reasons to not pay a 150, I ended up agreeing to give him a 140. Damn.
Anyway.
So this isn't just one guy in the auto. Its two. Tag-team auto driving, like I've never seen before.
So I get into the auto, and no sooner are we (not so) up up and away, when we encounter the mother of all traffic jams. So one of the team gets out, and goes to find the source of the jam. He figures it isn't going to end any time soon, so asks his team-mate to take a u-turn, and get the heck out of there. But we're next to the median (made from those ridiculous metal stand things), but our ingenious auto man just moves the median out of the way to facilitate our u-turn.
We're then stuck in traffic going the other way. He doesn't like the way things are going. He wants more business.
Hence a couple of minutes later, I find myself seated next to this old couple, going elsewhere, which is apparently on the way home. Wonderful.
Luckily I've got my iPod, so I don't have to make conversation.
Apparently not. I turn to be faced by two pairs of moving mouths, apparently directed at me, because the movement of the mouths is followed by expectant looks.
After some ridiculously painful small talk, we finally get to wherever they're going (in an auto I hired in the first place) get wished luck for the rest of my life, and we continue our journey.
When we get home (after a whole load of the scariest driving I've ever seen) the guy has the cheek to ask me for another ten bucks.
"Ten more? Why?"
"We took a detour."
They took a detour. For which they were paid a handsome sum of fifty rupees.
But let's forget that.
Somehow I am to blame for him asking those nice people to get into the auto, and them taking a small detour to their house.
Really, where do these people get it from?
3 comments:
I had many things to say to this.
1)Never get into a tag team auto. You aren't a girl, I am aware of that fact, but it's still dicey.
2)140 from where to home? Retard.
3)Facilitating U-Turn-ing is the funniest thing about this country and especially this city. I love it!
4)You're a pushover and got pushed over.. but here's your silver lining... you got a blog story out of it.
5) You're a fruitcake in a juice toaster.
Good times.
Answering in reverse order.
5) True. But you're one too. 'sall cool.
4)Arguing with two large as hell guys over money isn't very conducive to my overall health.
3).
2) T-nagar. At 7 45, peak hour traffic. Couldn't really argue with that.
1)Didn't know it was tag team auto. i assumed part two was just a passenger, till he got back on.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha......150 from T-nagar to your place is just a *tad* overpriced (By Madras standards!)
But the old couple? Oh good god! Hahahahhaha....
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