𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 (𝐦𝐚𝐧) 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲!
A week ago, I had to attend a marriage reception in the bustling Mylapore area on the eve of Ganesh festival. After a fairly exhausting day, I didn’t have the energy to drive through the traffic which was going to be bursting at the seams, further compounded by the right, left and U turns due to the ongoing Metro rail work. So, I decided to hire a cab / auto. After attending the function, I found that an auto was available in a minute and booked it. The driver was happy – he got a ride just after a drop (business continuity!) and my residence was in the vicinity of where he lived. Soon after, he started talking to me (𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭) and was narrating about his experiences.
He had moved from the interiors to Chennai, 6 years ago, joined a petrol filling station as a staff and in a short span became a supervisor. While he was respected in his job and was doing well, he had a different view than that of his manager with respect to the staff attrition. Because of working conditions, the staff were constantly quitting and freshers had to be hired. He said “Sir, the owner could sleep peacefully because the manager is there, the manager could sleep peacefully because I (supervisor) am there, but 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 which stays put?” (𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠). He used to ask the staff leaving the job, on reasons for quitting (𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲) and was trying to figure out how their concerns could be addressed (𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲). Since management support was not forthcoming, he decided to quit and took up auto driving.
He was enjoying the freedom and was equipped to take on the uncertainties (𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩). He had a commitment to make a certain sum of money every day (rental amount to owner, fuel charges plus money for himself). When his target for the day was met, he was contended and was not willing to burn himself (𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞). His thoughts
“I overwork and become stressed, what is the point of having money?”
“If I don’t have time to talk to my mother every day or my friends, what is the point of life?”
“At specific times, if I have to earn a bit more say for my sister’s family, I am fine to do that” (𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬)
That very morning, when he started his work, he found to his dismay that the clutch wire had worn off and he was couple of kilometres from a mechanic shop. While people were seeing him push the auto, no one enquired if he needed any help. He said, “Sir, if I had seen some one struggling like that, I would have offered them my support”
I was dropped at my place. I appreciated him for his thoughts in life and commitment, wished him the best and of course added a good tip.
No post on auto drivers would be complete without the “Naan Autokaaran” 😃What do you think?
