IITian
and Rickshawala....
There
were two rickshaw-walas vying for our business when we wanted to go to
Sankat-Mochan temple in Benaras. I agreed to go with the one who was about
20, seemed like a regular young rickshaw-wala, but I found something
interesting about this fellow in his eyes. I was not proved wrong.
He
wanted Rs 50, we said Rs 30. We settled for 40. Here are the highlights of
the conversation that ensued while he rode the rickshaw:
"aap
kahan se aaye hain"
"Delhi"
"bijness ya kaam karte hain?"
"naukri karte hain"
"kismein"
"internet mein"
"humara bhi kuch wahin kaam lagwa do"
"main
try kar raha hoon engineering padhne kee. achchi naukri lag jaayegi tab"
"achcha?" I asked a little interested.
"haan, Delhi mein Guru Gobind Singh Indraprashta University mein
engineering ke liye apply kara hai. achchi hai who university?"
"haan, achchi hai", I agreed.
"haan, kal hee maine JEE bhi diya"
"JEE matlab, IIT ka?"
"haan, Joint Entrance Examination" he pronounced it perfectly just
to make it clear to me what JEE stood for. "mushkil hota hai exam?"
"haan, 2 saal toh log padhte hee hain uske liye, asaan nahin hai" I
carried on the conversation.
"Delhi mein Akaash coaching institute hain na?"
"haan, hai."
"aapne kya padhai kari?"
"main engineer hoon, aur phir mba bhi kiya"
"kahan se engineer?"
"IIT delhi se"
He swung back, surprised, a little delighted, and smiled. "Ok, aapke
liye Rs 30"
Swati
asked "padhai kab karte they IIT ke liye"
"bas, rickshaw chalaane ke baad raat mein".
Then
he added "kismein engineering kari aapne?"
"Chemical"
"toh aapki chemistry toh badi strong hogi"
"nahin, aisa nahin hai"
He continued, "yeh bataiye....jab Mendeleev ne Periodic Table banaya tha
tab kitne elements they usmein?"
Now it was my turn to get surprised. He was quizzing me. I said "shayad
70-80."
"no, 63", he said sharply. "kaunse element kee
electro-negativity highest hai?"
Swati
was laughing, and I didn't try too hard and said, "pata nahin."
"Flourine", he said confidently.
Without
a break he asked,"kaunse element kee electron affinity highest hoti
hai?"
Now I was laughing too and said, "nahin pata"
"Chlorine. toh aapka kaunsa subject strong tha?", clearly having
proven that my chemistry wasn't a strong point.
"Physics", I said
"achha, Newton's second law of motion kya hai"
I knew this one I thought, "F=ma" I said.
"Physics is not about formula, it is understanding concept!" he
reprimanded me in near perfect English. "Tell me in statement."
I
was shocked. Swati continued to laugh.
I
said "ok, Newtons second law, er....was...."
" 'was' nahin, 'is'! Second law abhi bhi hai!" he snapped at my use
of 'was.'
Surely,
my physics wasn't impressing him either.
"yaad
nahin, I said"
"Force on an object is directly proportional to the mass of the object
and the acceleration of the object", he said it in near perfect English.
"aapne Mtech nahin kiya?"
"nahin, mba kiya"
"mba waale toh sirf paisa kamana chahte hain, kaam nahin karte"
"nahin, aisa nahin hai, paisa kamaane ke liye kaam karna padta hai"
He said "arrey, rehene do" or some words to that effect. He didn't
think too highly of me apparently anymore.
In
a minute we reached our destination. We got off and I told him that he must
and should definitely study more, and that I think he is sharp as hell.
He took only Rs 30, smiled and began to leave.
I got my camera out and said "Raju, ek photo leta hoon tumhari".
He waved me off, dismissed the idea and rode off before I could say anything
more.... leaving me feeling high and dry like a spurned lover. Damn, what a
ride that was!
India is changing, and changing fast!
As shared by
GS Khurana |
