Urban Illiterate

In a single day, witnessing both happy and sad coincidental incidents left me quite perplexed. On a particular day going to Kailash Colony in an auto was quite pleasant. That was one part of the story.

 Finishing my work I came out and looked around for an auto to go back to Green Park. Spotting one, I asked him if could take me to my destination. He refused saying that he could not go.

Now this was quite irritating—I mean the auto was there, that too vacant, yet not ready to go. When I insisted as to why he would not take me, he blurted out, “The world is full of cheats. I don’t know whom to believe madam. A lady got down from my auto... told me to wait... that she will come in five minutes and give me the money. For mere fifty rupees I’ve been waiting for past one hour.”

The man was little short of crying. The pain of being cheated was writ large on his face. In that instant, a thought flashed. I sat in the auto saying, “Chalo, I will give you the money.”

There was a sense of relief after giving the auto-wala his due plus fifty rupees. But it left me with a question.

 Why did I pay somebody else’s dues?

 Was this a pichle janam ka hisab-kitab?

What joy did the lady get by cheating a poor man?

Or is this some kind of cheap thrill?