There are so many little details that rush to the head and I can’t figure out where to begin. I start to feel like an eighth grader struggling with a character sketch of the protagonist of a Munshi Premchand story. My impression of Basanth is rather like one of those characters, simple with an uncanny depth about him. As I board his autorickshaw, he breaks the ice… in fluent English. He politely asks me my name as I look about the auto for his license details to spot his. The conversations over the course of the next twenty minutes went thus -
Me: Where did you learn English, did you go to college?
Basanth: People like you are my teachers, if I talk in English people respond back and I keep learning.
Me: [feeling a little silly about the college part, and remarked on the full moon, which hung low on the horizon]
Basanth: [Taking out his cell phone and trying to get a picture] Thank you for showing me the moon, it is indeed beautiful and I rarely look up at the sky.
Me: Yes, it does have a very dream like quality.
Basanth: [after a pause] …You know what my dream is? One to become a singer, I don’t sing well, but I’d like to try. Second is to become a scientist. What do you think would be the eligibility for becoming a scientist?
Me: A Scientist? …Ummm…well…maybe a BSc degree?
Basanth: I don’t think so. I think you need to be a little MAD about something, if you want it bad enough you can get it, I think.
Me: [feeling even more silly about the BSc bit and by now frankly at a little loss of words] What is the third dream?
Basanth: [without hesitation] To be a good human being.
Me: What would a good human being be like, Basanth, what do you mean by good?
Basanth: The first part is to not cheat oneself. Secondly, we live in a society and need to give back to it, a good human being is a good husband and a good father [pauses, followed by a sigh]… I don’t think I am a good father, I don’t think I spend as much time with my child as I would like to.
Me: How do you teach your child what is good from bad, Basanth? How would you make him a good human being?
Basanth: Life is made of choices, I cannot teach him this, he will have to make his own choices, I can only tell him what worked for me.
At this point, I arrived at my destination, and I paid him, he mentioned that I had overpaid him and returned the tip back.
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I had a similar experience with an auto driver who also spoke fluent English, and he wanted to learn a foreign language some day… May all their dreams come true..
May all autowalas become like Basanth. Bangalore will then probably have lesser private vehicles.
some rickshaw drivers are really helpful. all the best basant hope you fulfill your dream and become a good human.