No auto, no cry

No girlfriend, no tension,8217;8217; read the back of the auto ahead of mine. I was reminded of Bob Marley8217;s old song, 8216;8216;No...

No girlfriend, no tension,8217;8217; read the back of the auto ahead of mine. I was reminded of Bob Marley8217;s old song, 8216;8216;No woman, no cry8217;8217;. When I grumbled to my husband about it, he grinned. 8216;8216;What8217;s funny?8217;8217; I stormed. 8216;8216;If we are such a problem, do without us. What8217;s with you men? Always complaining!8217;8217;

8216;8216;You should have fired the driver in your usual style,8217;8217; chuckled my husband. 8216;8216;But of course, how can you? He8217;s your friend and saviour 8212; the dear auto driver, weaving through the trying traffic at breakneck speed on wheels of fire, jumping signals, pitting roads, scratching pedestrians, denting cars 8212; they should all be put behind bars! The bane of the suburbs!8217;8217; Now he was losing his sense of humour.

8216;8216;The flying steed of the suburbs,8217;8217; I corrected gently. Gets you anywhere in good time.

At the lift of a finger one saunters to a halt at your feet. And flies you to wherever you wish to be, with music and style, in less time than you thought you would take, at a price that8217;s gentle on your purse. The only thing you risk is your neck. But then women have the ability to stick their necks out, and survive!

My experiences are memorable ones. I once requested an auto driver to lower the volume as the music seemed to be causing explosions in my head. I think I was pretty polite, but he ignored my request, took the auto to the side of the road, turned around and waved his finger at me. 8216;8216;Utar jao step down,8217;8217; he said grimly. I gaped, then got the message. No matter 8212; another one ambled by. Talk about arrogance.

But this one was the best. The approach road to my society is a congested one. As we were moaning up the road, a fancy car rushed out of another society to our left and both screeched to a halt in the nick of time. Both stared at each other wordlessly. I held my breath. Finally the car driver indicated with a thrust of his head to the auto driver to back a little so he could take a right turn. My driver said nothing, only stared glassily ahead. 8216;8216;Reverse just a little bit,8217;8217; the man finally pleaded. My driver gave a satisfied grunt, and the auto groaned and moved back exactly one inch. The car driver scowled, swore, crawled forward so as not to touch the auto, went a little ahead, reversed diagonally, revved up his engine to show his annoyance as a finale to the cold war, and veered off sharply, as my driver stood rooted to his spot like a king.

Then he started the auto with a flourish, and as we rattled ahead, he announced over his shoulder, to no one in particular, 8216;8216;Sometimes the alleycats presume that they are tigers!8217;8217;