Bhaiya...meter se chalo!!

For a 19 year old who doesn't know how to drive, the Auto walah's are the only respite. Despite of being pushed to attend driving lessons by both my dad and my boyfriend, I have simply been lazy to do the same. I mean ,with the numerous auto's and rickshaws running by I never really felt the need to drive.And driving in Delhi is the ultimate test of patience, which unfortunately I do not possess.

And I face the consequences of my laziness now.

Sometime back I visited a friend of mine in south Delhi. We were chilling at GK I, M block. After a wonderful evening I was out to find that one Auto which would take me home without any fuss.

AUTO 1:No madam, can't go to central Delhi

AUTO 2:Chalenge ,but apko CNG bharwani padegi (I mean hello!!)

AUTO 3:150 lagenge,bohot door hai madam

AUTO 4:blah!!

AUTO 5: blah !! blah!!

AUTO 6:Oh this one didn't say a thing, he simply nodded his head in negative

AUTO 7:120 me chalo (yeah seven wasn't too lucky for me)

and then came AUTO 8.There was nothing special about it.It was just like green yellow auto with the same annoying noise.But it stopped by, it didn't nod his head in negative and said

"100 me chalunga"

I knew it doesn't take more than 80 bucks to reach home and I so wasn't gonna part with anything more than that.

"80 me chalo bhaiya" I insisted.

"90" he said

"nahi bhaiye aap jada bol rae ho, yaha se 80 lagte hai" I explained.

"madam 80 to lajpat nagar se lagte hai"

I stayed silent,giving him the  "I would get another AUTO look"

And then he said those magical words!!

"CHALO METER SE BAITH JAO"

I hadn't heard them for ages now.I remember paying huge sums to the auto walahs simply coz I was getting late and I cared more about my appointment rather than the extra ten bucks.But this was amazing.

I smiled and sat.The inner walls of the auto was decorated with  Hritik Roshan's poster.It had a first aid box(I know coz I saw the red cross on it) which was stuffed with his supplies of tobacco.The radio blared with some odd old hindi movie song.I was looking at the meter as the figures tuned up with every passing kilometer.

I noticed that the driver was checking out the meter at every damn red light.Then he would look at me and give me the "IT WOULD BE MORE THAN 90 MADAM" look. It was a annoying.For a while I started doubting the meter (you never know what these people do to tamper it). As i reached closer to my place the meter figure grew closer and closer to what i had offered to him.He looked at the meter again and grinned at me.And I knew it was a silent war.My eyes couldn't get off the meter.(Honestly I didn't have anything great to do). 

72.45

72.90

..

..

..

..

I was still away from my place.The driver looked at it for one last time and gave me a stare.

74

..

75

..

76

..

77

..

78

..

78.45

"Yahi rok do bhaiya" I smiled...

He looked at the meter and hung his head low.

I had won!!

I looked into the mirror and gleamed.

I gave him a 100 bucks and smiled widely as he returned the change.I walked back home with an odd sort of happiness.

"CHALO METER SE BAITH JAO"

The sweet words still resound in my head.

I wonder when will I get to hear them again

No....I don't wanna do "frandship" with you.....

Dear Mr "FRANDSHIP"

I noticed your friend request on my Facebook account a week ago. Your profile picture seemed very familiar. Of course it would be, It was some old "tere naam" Salman khan picture.It scared me (just like the movie) .I assume you are aggressive and persistent just like Salman was in the movie. I had to ignore your request pertaining to the fact that I "DO NOT"  add strangers to my Facebook profile. I thought the story ends there,but as i said you indeed are very persistent and patient. A day later I again receive a friend request from you. This time i noticed that you had changed your profile picture to tom cruise from MI2. I guess you are under an impression that girls love Hollywood actors more.Maybe, but if it was an attempt to impress me and get me to accept your request, heartfelt apologies sir, but that was so not happening.I deny the request yet again.
You seem to be a firm believer of the phrase "third time lucky"
Two days later, You send in a request again.This time its your own picture.Bangs(longer than mine), cool shades,, an orange shirt (too bright) and black jeans..and not to mention the huge buckle belt....which failed in its attempt to hide your protruding belly... I respect your decision to disclose your real ,"gorgeous " self to me, but sir...I didn't quite know you...So you know what I did....The same old story...
But trust me Sir...in the past one week,.,,,The sfact that I have known about you...(apart from your "gorgeous" appearance) is that you are one patient guy who would never give up.You send in a request yet again. No change in the profile picture(OMG!!) But a message

"YOU ARE SO CUTEI, WHY DON'T U AECPT MY FRANDSHIP REQUEST?"

and This sir is what has compelled me to write in to you.

I appreciate your efforts and admire your patience and persistence...

But the bottom line is still the same...

I do not know you

And I so .don't wanna do "FRANDHSIP" with you

but keep your search going...

you would soon find a   new  "CUTEI" to send friend requests to.

:D

Not scared...but disgusted....

I have lost count of how many times I have read and heard that , Delhi is unsafe for women. Delhi our very own capital city, which ranks second in the tally of crime against women with horrifying figures which double, triple and quadruple year after year. While we keep a tally of all the rape and harassment cases, one crime that goes unnoticed but takes place almost everyday, is the evil of eve teasing.
According to Wikipedia, Eve teasing is defined as the euphemisms used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men. A quick grab, a strange shoulder bump, a sneaky pinch, men cat call, men making kissing noises and singing lewd songs, and even the “hey sexy” and “I love you’s” you hear are all means of eve teasing. And it is not restricted to the underbelly of the state, but prevails far and wide among all social strata’s.
The root cause of this evil is the latent curiosity in this class of cowardly male to touch and torment. They perceive women to be second rate citizens, an easy prey, demure, helpless, and submissive. Someone who doesn’t have rights roam around at free will, who doesn’t have a right to her own opinion and who “deserves” to be eve teased and punished.
Every morning I get ready for college making sure that I don’t dress lewdly or adorn anything revealing so as to avoid any unwanted male attention. Despite of the discrete efforts on my part, my day stands incomplete till the time I hear somebody whistle of pass some remarks when I use public transport, or walk my way back home. There are times I wonder, could the hemline of a girl’s skirt be the measure of her safety and her confidence when she steps out of her house? If so, no wonder Delhi girls prefer wearing jeans even in summer.
After all this, at times I question myself
“Do I feel unsafe?”
No I don’t. I don’t feel scared or unsafe but I do feel disgusted.

The rise in crime against women is an evidence of the persisting sexist society in our country. Even today we struggle with sexism in the highest corridors of power. No matter how much we preach of equality and development we cannot deny the fact that gender inequality exists even today. a place where on one hand we worship Durga and Lakshmi and on the other we see men beating up their wives to death, berating them as they would an animal.
Elders say, the keyword is “ignore”, and that’s what girls have been doing for so long. The worst is that eve teasing is still a grey area. Though Sec 298(A) and (B),Sec 292 and Sec 509 law down rules in this regard but they are neither stringent nor of any use because there are hardly any F.I.R’s filed against eve teasers. But the question is, can we keep making excuses and keep our eyes closed to the malaise among this lot? , Must we not show them what’s right and what’s wrong?
Perhaps they would understand when they themselves are subjected to such an act. Thus I believe it is imperative not to run away from such hassles but to confront them with any means and tools at hand.So that we all can make Delhi a safer place to live in.