वहा की ज़मीन ज़मीन नहीं, सोना है !

I think one of the best things about Mumbai is its people! From an Auto driver to an Audi owner, everyone has a tale to tell :-)

Well, I haven’t yet met any Audi owner but I surely meet interesting auto drivers (जिसे हम प्यार से भैया या चाचा बुलाते है) everyday during my travel!

वहा की ज़मीन ज़मीन नहीं, सोना है – said Ramchandra Yadav who came from a small village near Allahabad to Mumbai in search of a job and is now driving an auto-rickshaw since last 17years!

I must say he was one of the smartest I came across till date. He is an Arts Bachelor, who was very ambitious and wanted to become a teacher…but as he said - नसीब में ही नहीं था मैडम, बाबूजी की फैक्ट्री अचानक से बंद हो गयी ...मुझे बी.एड का कॉलेज छोड़ के बम्बई आना पड़ा. यहाँ आया तो किसीने सहारा नहीं दिया.

Back in UP they have their own land on which his father and elder son are doing farming. He said the soil there is so fertile; all it needs is ample of water and care, but the electricity is the major issue - वहा एक बार बिज़ली चली गयी तोह वापिस कब आएगी यह कोई नहीं जानता!

It was a pleasant surprise to know how learned (not academically but practically) the man is! I mean he remembered the names of every politician who was ever elected from his jurisdiction. He had his views about how in spite of 80% of our economy being agrarian, we still have people dying from hunger because we export some of the basic food grains and let the rest rot so that it can be used for liquor production.

I also liked the fact that he proudly said that he has an elder daughter who is currently studying in Std 12^th and two sons who are in school. This reinforced my belief that Education is a solution to a lot of social problems we face in India.

When I posed a question to him asking - अगर UP में सब ठीक होगया तोह वापिस घर जाना चाहोगे? He smiled and said - कौन होगा जो नहीं जाना चाहेगा!

50% of auto rickshaw drivers in Mumbai are from Uttar Pradesh and in spite of being in the city for over 10 years; they are still called ‘Migrants’!

I know that the least I can do is to not make them feel like an ‘outsider’ and I am glad I have realized that:-)!!