Month: Early August.
Hot afternoon...I mean real blistering hot afternoon!! Jaipur has always been extreme hot until late October! After that?? Insensate cold!! I remember seeing the first befog winters in Jaipur in my first year of B.E.! After all, Wardha(Maharashtra), where I spent my teenage, was never that cold. Yea..summers toh Massah Allah!!)
But must tell you, Jaipur is the only city in the boastfully large list of cities I lived in, which I really don't like to be to! Though, it is one of the major tourist destination in India & the capital of the largest state in India...kya karein apne apne Fundae hotte hain!! lol.
Anyways.. I modeled myself in a cycle-rickshaw which is very common in the Pink City. I caught it from Polo Victory for Railway station, where I had to seek my chances for reservation back to Ahmedabad for the other day! Because I wasn't sure about my return, I didn't reserve my return-ticket.
The distance between Polo Victory & Railway station isn't that long actually.. But it was real hot & I was there for just a two-day official jaunt!!
Polo Victory is one of the major tourist spot in Jaipur which almost all the desi & foreign tourists, who have visited the Pink City, know! Named after Polo Victory cinema and very close to both railway station and the bus stand, this is a famous age old hangout and probably the center-nerve of the city!
I started ramming in the cycle-rickshaw, just when I reached the first signal on my way to the station. Just then, I saw a gang of women working on the flyover construction site. They were bespeaking a anguish of a fellow worker, who was expecting & had to be rushed to a near-by hospital immediately!
I gave a look at the women they were pointing to, she really looked in pain. But, before I could think of anythig else, they started imploring me for money! Atleast 3 women surrounded me with their stressed voice asking me for atleast an autoricksaw fare to get her to the nearest hospital! They were pleading for atleast 100 rupees.. which obviously came down to 70!!
I tried confirming the rickshaw wala, if it wasn't fishy! He gestured it wasn't! I immmediately took out the money & gave the ladies! I was more amused by the other people in their cars waiting at the signal & not even being stirred by such a human demand!
May be because, India is a country with such a large population which has actually made us worry about us more than anything else! Never Mind, The ladies took the money & not even blessed me! Cripes!!
Chal Chodd... The signal opened up & my amusing ride on the cycle rickshaw took me straight to the reservation office for the tickets, which I finally didn't get.. I though did check on the internet that I would get a WL 15 for Aravalli Express.. But after standing in the long queue for almost 20 minutes, my patience gave up!! जाने दे न.. अहमदअबाद के लिए खूब वोल्वो और फास्ट बस हैं ,उसमे ही निकल जऊँगा! This was what curbed my mind.
.jpg)
(clicked in the same evening, this road goes straight to Polo Victory)
The very Next Day:
Me in a auto-rickshaw (this time not a Cycle-Rickshaw), another signal comes up on M.I. Road from where I was to return back to Ahmedabad, M.I. Road being a famous shopping street of Jaipur.
(Golcha Point, on M.I. Road..clicked by me)
Another Red signal comes up. A young boy in his rags, wakes briskly towards me & suddenly finds himself being scared of by my auto driver! The Auto-Driver then looks into the large mirror just above the wind-shield of his auto and looking into my reflexion, he then says "अरी भैया.... यह लोग बहुत फर्जी ( used for शान्ने in Rajasthan) होते हैं!" He then continues: " कल के अख़बार में आया था की एक भिकारी के पास बैंक में 3 lakh रुपियाँ हैं! "
After looking at me & my pal enjoying & finding us pushing this funny debate further as always..He too gets excited & then bursts out saying.." यह आगे Polo Victory के पास जहाँ पूल बन रहा है, वहां पे कुछ औरतें लोगों से सिग्नल पे कहती हैं की उनकी साथ की मजदूर को बच्चा होना हैं और हॉस्पिटल ले जाने के पैसे दे दें ! " "लोगों को बेफ्कुफ़ बना के खूब कमाती हैं !! ""
.. Listening to this, My brain-waves took a flight back to the previous arvo! And, my pal , whom I told about the whole incidence just an evening before, as I just couldn't come out of it as my mind was always boggling me back to the women whom I saw in backbreaking pain!
We both just gave a look to each other & there he was all laugh & throwing silly pokes against me to the auto-driver, he said: "अरी अंकल, क्या बात कर रहे हो?? हमारे एक दोस्त के साथ भी ये ही हुआ है! उस बेचारे को भी उन औरतों ने दू बना दिया !! " क्या लोग भी जानसे में आ जाते हैं !!! "
But for me, it was nothing more than a night-mare, because they even didn't address a blessing for me!! I just could'nt believe being thuged in the worst possible way! That was really inhuman! How can people fool you on the basis of deepest humanity? Because , the feelings had haunted me almost every minute, I couldn't just eat my luncheon & couldn't stop cursing other people waiting on the signal for not helping the woman!
It's not over yet. One more pathetic event happened to me probably on the same day..
Just a month ago, when this happened to me I was riding my moto-scooter on C.G. Road, near Lee's Showroom (Ahmedabad), I saw an aged woman with her wrist not at all present with her & the whole thing was covered with a bandage full blood-stains!! That was another day, when to be honest , I didn't feel like buying a pair of Jeans! I tell you. it was really heart-touching, & real graveling to remember!
But Guess whhat? Grrrrr...... I saw a similar woman with the same patch & blood-stains,this time though not that too red, that very day when I was going back towards the bus-station to catch a bus back to Ahmedabad!
But, why did I blog this???? Just in a day, two secrets opens up which gave me a tough time whole day!! Karne chala bhalai, Ho gayi Chiggy-Wiggy!!
