It is a small world and a big one too.
Last time when I had come to Bihar that was in 1999 and when our team of probationers from LBSNAA had arrived, we were welcomed by a huge contingent of helpers, care takers, guides and Nazirs.
This time around, it was different. As I parted with the other team members, who were to go back after a presentation- I had to search for a hotel for accommodation. Being economical in these times is not a compulsion but definitely a better idea. And if one has to go to the next lane, hiring a taxi is not the best idea.
The age old rickshaws, which took me to school right from half a year in nursery till a quarter of class seventh- when I shifted to bicycling- looked so curious and attractive with all that stuff of providing some easy earning to a poor man.
This long gap of time, since then, only occurred when I sat on the rickshaw. The relative size of that vehicle was still the same in my mind for all these years; something where two rows of kids were seated facing each other- one on the seat and the other on the wooden plank and had luxurious space to fight, play, scream and pass years of innocence and joy.
This time around when the knees touched the rickshaw pullers seat, the reality of time struck and shattered the fixed images of the past. But it was beautiful and I tried to hire that conveyance as often as I could.
Then a visit to Ranchi followed. I could not agree more to it now what was told by my senior; this job is extremely entrepreneurial (unlike the highly glamorous image associated with it).
After having worked till late night to prepare some documents, I had to get some 600 plus prints taken in colour and B/W, get 4 hard copies bound and seal the docs and had to submit them before the prescribed time. At every stage and having done each step, I had to explore a new market and had very little time before submission of docs.
And then the hotel staff gave ugly looks when I asked for a taxi. Small cities still don’t have a large enough demand for such ‘luxuries’ and so business doesn’t develop around that. On a summer afternoon, it became a torture to search for an auto or taxi and all the efforts seemed to be going down the drain.
I had to go to an office which was clearly out of the main town and considered as ‘very far’ by the local definition. While it was certain that I would be delayed on a shared Tempo, I asked the driver of one of the tempos which had just completed one way of its circuit, if I could hire his full auto for my own use. After the customary bargain on the rates, which either side does for the fun they derive out of it and hardly for the value, the deal was made.
The Tempo became the Ferrari and the driver became its chauffer, clearing pleased with the deal he had just completed and he started racing the vehicle on the narrow Ranchi roads against the private cars. It raced and crossed the stands with the regular commuters waving to stop the vehicle and the driver determined to tell everyone around, ‘People this is a Ferrari’.
Finally the document got submitted on time and then those feelings of relief; almost tons of load off the head!! After a couple of days of stay in Ranchi, I started for Kolkata; making it six stations in six days.
Do I like this? Definitely I don’t mind this. For a Gemini, travel means the ether in excited state- the way they are, the way they prefer it.
But for certain I look forward to the shift to Gurgaon now. Last time, I had to start before the search for a house could begin. But being close to Delhi, I need badly, and I look forward to it. After all, it is a small world to travel around, but it is still a big world and one wants to be close to his roots at some point of time.
Last time when I had come to Bihar that was in 1999 and when our team of probationers from LBSNAA had arrived, we were welcomed by a huge contingent of helpers, care takers, guides and Nazirs.
This time around, it was different. As I parted with the other team members, who were to go back after a presentation- I had to search for a hotel for accommodation. Being economical in these times is not a compulsion but definitely a better idea. And if one has to go to the next lane, hiring a taxi is not the best idea.
The age old rickshaws, which took me to school right from half a year in nursery till a quarter of class seventh- when I shifted to bicycling- looked so curious and attractive with all that stuff of providing some easy earning to a poor man.
This long gap of time, since then, only occurred when I sat on the rickshaw. The relative size of that vehicle was still the same in my mind for all these years; something where two rows of kids were seated facing each other- one on the seat and the other on the wooden plank and had luxurious space to fight, play, scream and pass years of innocence and joy.
This time around when the knees touched the rickshaw pullers seat, the reality of time struck and shattered the fixed images of the past. But it was beautiful and I tried to hire that conveyance as often as I could.
Then a visit to Ranchi followed. I could not agree more to it now what was told by my senior; this job is extremely entrepreneurial (unlike the highly glamorous image associated with it).
After having worked till late night to prepare some documents, I had to get some 600 plus prints taken in colour and B/W, get 4 hard copies bound and seal the docs and had to submit them before the prescribed time. At every stage and having done each step, I had to explore a new market and had very little time before submission of docs.
And then the hotel staff gave ugly looks when I asked for a taxi. Small cities still don’t have a large enough demand for such ‘luxuries’ and so business doesn’t develop around that. On a summer afternoon, it became a torture to search for an auto or taxi and all the efforts seemed to be going down the drain.
I had to go to an office which was clearly out of the main town and considered as ‘very far’ by the local definition. While it was certain that I would be delayed on a shared Tempo, I asked the driver of one of the tempos which had just completed one way of its circuit, if I could hire his full auto for my own use. After the customary bargain on the rates, which either side does for the fun they derive out of it and hardly for the value, the deal was made.
The Tempo became the Ferrari and the driver became its chauffer, clearing pleased with the deal he had just completed and he started racing the vehicle on the narrow Ranchi roads against the private cars. It raced and crossed the stands with the regular commuters waving to stop the vehicle and the driver determined to tell everyone around, ‘People this is a Ferrari’.
Finally the document got submitted on time and then those feelings of relief; almost tons of load off the head!! After a couple of days of stay in Ranchi, I started for Kolkata; making it six stations in six days.
Do I like this? Definitely I don’t mind this. For a Gemini, travel means the ether in excited state- the way they are, the way they prefer it.
But for certain I look forward to the shift to Gurgaon now. Last time, I had to start before the search for a house could begin. But being close to Delhi, I need badly, and I look forward to it. After all, it is a small world to travel around, but it is still a big world and one wants to be close to his roots at some point of time.
