This afternoon’s occurrences reveal some interesting aspects of my life here, and probably reveal some of my mentality which has undoubtedly changed since I’ve gotten to Udaipur. To give some background, you should know what transportation is like in Udaipur. For me, there are 4.5 main ways of getting from here to there. #1) Walking. That’s an obvious one, but definitely my favorite, in Udaipur I have been known to walk very long distances because a) I like walking and b) it is the only form of transportation which requires no human interaction (which is sometimes necessary). #2) Scooty’s/motorcycles. Most local people get around on motorcycles or scooters. I had a scooter which was old, unreliable and cursed. I have given it to some fellow firengi’s (foreigners) who are a little more daredevilish than I am, but I still get around on the back of motorcycles and scooty’s all the time. It’s a pretty fun way to get around. #3) Autorickshaws. Little motorized three-wheelers which are convenient for getting from here to there, but can be exhausting because of all the required communication for negotiating a price and explaining where you want to go. #4) Tempos. Big rickshaws which run on specific routes, like buses, but a bit more gritty (you may have to hold a child or get cozy with an Auntie and Katharine once got peed on). Tempos are also pretty cheap 4-7 Rs. (Around 10-20ish cents). #4.5) Cars. Sometimes my friends drive me around in cars, which is always fun and exciting.
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| A scooty (not mine, but mine looks just like this, but black) |
Now that you have the background, I will explain what happened this afternoon. To start the morning, I went from home to my (new) office via Rakesh’s motorcycle. Then after work, I went by tempo to the grocery store to do some shopping. The grocery store is not too far from my house, about a 40 minute walk, 10 minute tempo ride + 10 minute walk, or 5 minute auto ride. Feeling a bit tired, I decided to go for the auto ride, which should cost about 20-30 Rs. So I go over to this guys auto, ready to go through the motions of negotiation. I start a little low, with 15 Rs, and to my surprise the guy agrees and we get moving. Now this usually is not how things happen. Usually he’d say 50 Rs, and then there would be drama on both sides, I would walk away, he would chase after me, blah blah blah and we’d settle on 30 Rs or something. So today, I knew something seemed a bit fishy, but whatever. Then when we get back to my house I take out 20 Rs and he looks at me like I’m crazy. At this point I realize that there was an issue so I settle on giving him the 20 Rs and hop out. Then he says, no forty rupees! I say no, fifteen! And it uncoils, he thought I said fifty, I said fifteen, ah-ha. Well, I don’t really want to pay 20 more rupees, especially because 20 rupees is a reasonable amount for that ride and because auto drivers are always ripping me off and have been for the past 7 months. So I just walk away as he yells at me and he follows me to my “block” (alley) and starts asking for 10 more rupees (approx.. 25 cents, btw). I continue to say no (and a small crowd has gathered to watch the scene). Then he starts yelling at me in Hindi and gives me back my 20 rupees, saying he doesn’t want my money. This is something that happens here which I really don’t get, why would you want 0 rupees instead of the 20? Maybe something related to pride or something. Well apparently I have none of that as I take my money back and head home. 5 minutes later, my landlords’ son runs upstairs saying something or other about an auto, so I give him the 20 rupees, and he runs it downstairs to the driver and I watch from above as he eventually walks away angrily.
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| A tempo. |
It should be noted that since then, I have been sick in bed for like 3 days, so maybe I received some sort of karma for this stubborn-ness. But I wanted to share this story because it expresses a lot of my experience living in India, in 3 ways. One, that living here has helped me become a little more aggressive and stand up for myself more and (occasionally) yell, which I have decided is a good thing. Two, living in India is very exciting and at the same time, very exhausting and frustrating. Simple things like buying groceries and getting from one place to another can be fun adventures or can be draining chores. Three, most auto drivers in Rajasthan are crazy.
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| Traffic in Udaipur |
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