In the previous post – Monsoon Mania-in Mumbai - there is a photograph that, apart from road flooding, shows a glimpse of a vehicle in the corner. My friend Pim innocently imed me on gmail what that was and quite proudly, I mentioned how the auto-rickshaw, as seen in the picture, is the cynosure of daily commute in suburban Mumbai (apart from several other cities in certain countries).
While a lot of townies (downtown city residents or those who show typical traits of townies!) in Mumbai may detest these three-wheelers and consider a menace to the roads (Ashit calls them cockroaches on the road!), I am personally a huge fan of this means of transport. With several synonyms to it - including Rikshah, Bajaj, Tuck-Tuck, Phat-Phati, Pedicab - across quite a few countries, an autorickshaw symbolizes the simplicity and innocence of public transport. Without getting into a poetic mode, there is much good that can be said about these autorickshaws in the suburban city of Mumbai. They are usually available in numbers at all times of the day and in every nook and corner in the city areas where they operate. Infact at nights too, they are most reliable. Most of the times, they take you to your desired destination. However, it is left to the discretion of the rickshawalas (rickshaw drivers referred by that) to decide on whom to give the ride to, depending on the distance of the run, the expected passenger rush at the onward destination and so on. While they usually charge by their meter (some automatic and some manipulated), several cities have fixed rates and hence room for negotiation. At times, one would find the rickshawalas turning away despite an empty ride and some who, by the time you ask, “M.G. road jaoge?”, they brush by. Overall, most rides are pleasant.
With a fetish to ride in them (some call it my laziness to walk), I tend to choose the rickshaw based on (a) the comfort of the seat; (b) curtain-door in the monsoons; and most importantly (c) music! While (c) is detested by several and at times can be totally annoying, it can often be most entertaining. These rickshawalas play music that has songs converted into the most horrendous remixes and still sound wholly rhythmic with the bumpy roads, the honking and the hooting. Another entertaining aspect is the way the rear of the rickshaw is adorned with the so-called ‘work of art’. Check out some funny ones in this blog:
Several places around the world have considered providing autorickshaw rides during their tourist seasons. Many areas have autorickshaw-pooling services available. How cool is that! There is a music band by the name of Autorickshaw, inspired from classical north and south Indian compositions in the genre of world music. Also, it is interesting to note that there is something called the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge – a rally of sorts that cuts through rural India more with the idea of fostering a spirit of the event than mere competition. The only thing that would be worrisome is the emission of gases in the areas where the CNG is not widely used.
In all, this can be a fun ride, depending on where you want to go and how soon you want to get there.
