The English-Speaking Rickshaw Driver

Yesterday I boarded a rickshaw to return home. It was a Saturday, around 5.30 PM, and I was
returning from an exciting day.

As we took a turn, the driver asked me why it was so less crowded today, and whether it was because it was a Saturday. I just nodded, not ready to delve in any kind of conversation.

In a few more moments, the driver started talking about how he was learning English from his son and telling incidents about his passengers.

He told me about two Iranian girls who had boarded his rickshaw. One of the girls wanted him to go faster and faster. So his answer to her requests was, "Next time you call me, I'll come on bike."

He narrated how he was learning "good manners" and had a good sense of humor. He narrated another incident of how he replied to one of his customers by saying that he was "at your service."

He also asked me whether I knew who the father of the constitution was. When I answered correctly, he showed me some script tatooted on his right forearm.

He told me right at the start of the conversation that he was learning English from his son. But then he also quoted quite a lot of sayings in English. I thought that either he was too good at his studies to learn so much so quickly, or else he was lying about how he had just started learning.

Frankly, I was a little unhinged.

He probably had really good intentions. He didn't make any untoward remarks. He did seem respectable and honorable. But still I couldn't really be comfortable.

I just couldn't figure out whether he was real or fake, and what he really had in mind.

I still keep on thinking whether it was necessary to judge him. But I cannot help but also think that in today's world, one cannot be too free with strangers, especially those who start a conversation without any reason, and who try to be too familiar and pleasing.

My suspicion made me stop the ride a little further away from home. I didn't want to take the risk of letting him know my home.

It was kind of a muddled experience.

Hello World!

My last post was in the August of last year. And all this time, I kept on thinking of returning to blogging again. But never did I ever get the time, and somehow didn't have the inclination. I hope that today's post won't be the only one this year.

Three quarters of the year is already gone and we are all looking forward to the Navratri, Dussehra, and Diwali festivals, as well as the end-of-the-year vacations.With all this, I am also looking forward to the end of the current release that I am working on. It will be a good release done and also taking stock of how the whole year went by.

That reminds me of how quickly the year is gone. After Mahika was born, I got back to work after a break of seven months. I rejoined in December and it's already almost a year. Mahika is also one and half years old. This past one year has been full of surprises, learnings, unlearnings, adjustments, frustrations, and of course joy.

Mahika is a constant source of joy. She finally started walking at around 14 months and now runs around everywhere. Full of energy, she keeps me on my toes all the time. She keeps herself busy all the time by playing some sort of game, babbling away all the time, following me in the house, reading books, listening to her favourite songs and watching her favourite videos. When I go to work, I really miss her.

At work, I cannot believe that I have already worked on two major releases this year. A lot has changed at work. We have had a change in management and the team has changed. It really is a reminder that change is permanent. It's been exciting to go through this phase and survive.

I keep on thinking of what should I write about in my next post. And I still don't know. But I hope that I'll keep writing something consistently.