THE AUTO RICK(ETY)SHAW

Welcome back!

Have a sneak peek into any tourist’s travel diary, you are sure to find a mention of our auto rickshaw. Ubiquitous by its presence on the Indian road (be it rural, urban or the so called rurban), a ric is one of the many threads that unify the diverse fabric called India.

When the hand pulled rickshaw started giving way to motorized versions(automatic), the term Auto preceded(the Rickshaw) and the newer race came to be known just by AUTO , as rickshaw was obvious and redundant. Now with the hand pulled rics slowly moving into oblivion, we do not mind calling Autos, Ric(slick terminology!).

The ric gives us a bumpy ride , the bumpiness depends a lot on the condition or the road, the traffic and the drivers mood! Hamara Bajaj and Lambretta came out with rics , defined by foreigners as a rugged three wheeled motor cycle with a back seat and a cover. They were tailor made to suit our terrain(road?)and people. This Made for India idea came years before Nokia even thought of cell phones(leave Made for India phones).

While traveling in a ric, you have the best time when you are caught in a traffic jam and you have a truck or a bus as your traffic jam neighbor. I would just wish you good luck!

The black smoke from the truck’s exhaust would ruin your day, and you will have a real taste of pollution.

Give a ric a long stretch of empty road, it could um…roo…ooo…mmm(they don’t vroom!) at 30 kmph max. The hardly cushioned seat hurts our butt like hell, still an auto is a luxury for the average Indian, for whom a Cab is pretty expensive.

From the design point of view, hats off to guy who designed the front side. It needs very little space to turn, that’s a very small turning radius(Zip drive?)This is a factor that makes rics one of the largest contributors to road accidents. You never know when a ric is gonna make a turn, indicators are rarely there, or never used.

For a first timer a ric journey may be as scary as hell and even scary at the end(without a bargain and fight with the driver is the journey complete?) Remember last time you fought with the driver ?

If you are late to office, missed the school bus, or in an unknown territory, an auto is you best friend. Before winding this up, here is something to try. Try writing the alphabets while you are in a moving ric. Try with the other hand too.

No difference, right? Feeling ambidextrous?

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