I was riding pillion with my brother, when
suddenly a little child ran into the road, apparently having broken free from
his mother’s grip. My brother brought the vehicle to a screeching halt just in
the nick of time, to avoid hitting the child. But an autorickshaw driver who
was just behind us, did not expect us to stop so suddenly, and hit us from
behind.
Well, before I continue, it will be
imperative to tell you here, that the city where I live in, autorickshaw
drivers behave like they are the kings of the road, and you could be a goner,
if you happen to cause any damage to their vehicle, however microscopic that
may be. All fellow autodrivers will come to a stop and 'gherao' you till you
admit your mistake and shell out money. They will ensure to fleece you, and ensure that you make
good the damage, irrespective of whether the money is put to the use for which
it was demanded in the first place. Do people not go to the police? No, because
the whole process could take so long, that you could end up paying much more, spending
much more time, so settle the issue there and then is what people follow.
So coming back to the incident, no sooner
than we parked our vehicle and got down, the autorickshaw driver was all over
my brother. He used the choicest of expletives in the highest decibel his larynx
could afford, accusing my brother of not driving safely. All this while, my blood
boiled and I was dying to give the man a piece of my mind. But my brother
listened to him calmly, not speaking a word. His face was calm, his body
language unperturbed. His nonchalant attitude threw me off guard too!
I am
sure, it disturbed the autodriver because it became apparent as the tone of the
autodriver began to change, he spoke
less loudly, and the expletives were almost gone, like he had exhausted his
quota, and he asked my brother, “How can you keep quiet, guru? Settle the
issue.” My brother took out a bottle of water from his bag, and offered it to
the driver, “Here, drink some water.” The
driver appeared enraged again, “I don’t want water, tell me how you plan to
settle this issue” he demanded. With a
little coaxing from my brother in a calm voice, the driver was gulping down the
water, he had just refused.
Then my brother took him to inspect the
damage that had been caused to the auto. There was a slight dent on the front
so my brother asked him how much he thought it would cost to get it repaired. The
mother, whose child had caused the accident to occur, had been watching all
this drama. She came up to thank my brother. She apologised profusely and said if he hadn’t
applied the brakes, the kid would have been injured very badly. Other auto
drivers had started to gather, asking what was going on.
Can you believe my surprise, when that auto
driver said, nothing’s going on, and asked them to clear off and not block the
traffic! He apologised to my brother for using abusive language, without
knowing why he had to stop so suddenly. He said he did not want to be
compensated for the damage!
This was a first for me! What could never
happen had happened!! Let me assure you, this NEVER happens in a similar scenario.
Being nonchalant without being apathetic in
a volcanic situation is not the easiest thing to do. But I learnt that it pays
not to lose your cool, to remain calm and listen to the other person’s point of
view. It transformed two people, the autodriver and me.
