Loading ...Julian Mantle, a spiritual tourist to India, has bought an auto rickshaw in Mumbai. Julian is a frequent flier to India. He had sold all his property to live a life of a monk, but his daily encounters with auto drivers in Mumbai have forced him to buy an auto for himself.
Julian, who sold all his belongings including his Ferrari in search of peace of mind; feels that after buying this auto, he is near to get moksha.“India is the land that changes you. When I was capitalist, it turned me to a monk. Now that I want to live a life of a monk, it is forcing me to be capitalist. I visit India frequently to get some spiritual lessons. My experiences tell me that these auto rickshaw drivers will try to cheat you. Every time I visit, I come prepared to tackle them. But every time they come up with new tricks and fool me”
“Sometimes they will show different rate card with inflated charges. Sometimes they say that it’s pre-paid and charge more. When going by meter, they will travel the whole city before reaching the destination. All these incidences really make you piss off. Due to all these incidences I realized that during meditation I could not concentrate. All the time I was just thinking about how to avoid being ripped off by these auto drivers”
The monk who sold his Ferrari, buys an auto
“Now it is fine. I have bought an auto myself. I don’t need to take any tension about these auto drivers. Now I can easily relax and concentrate on spirituality once again, but I need to take care while filling the gas, as petrol pump people have already cheated me twice.”
On lines of Julian, many tourists travelling to India are buying autos. They feel that this can save upto 10% of their travel time which is wasted in bargaining with drivers.
Pranab Mukherjee has said that this is not a good move for Indian economy. As per him, current slowdown in economy is due to this act only. Now auto drivers, and hence Indian economy is not earning that much of money per tourist. Due to this country is suffering huge financial loss.
Julian’s idea has struck some Indian brains also. Hemant Kelkar, a local said, “I will buy an auto too. Every day I need to catch an auto. And they fool not only foreigners, but locals too. Once I was going from Bandra to Kurla. For that much distance, the meter showed Rs 200. Now I will start commuting by my personal auto. It will come cheaper than car. Mileage is more than car. And with traffic on Mumbai roads you reach early in auto than in car. Also while going to office, I will take some passengers going on the same route. This will take care of fuel charges too.”
So guys, if some auto doesn’t stop when you waive your hand to stop it, don’t abuse him. He may be a tourist or any of your very smart friends.
(Many thanks to one of our readers ‘Atul’ who has sent this news)
The monk who sold his Ferrari, buys an auto in Mumbai,
Good article!! Going by the petrol prices, this looks to be a fantastic idea to own a rickshaw and have its fuel take care of.
I had criticized lack of humor on a previous post. Now, i’m starting to like this. Good. Keep it up.
Very good. I have read Julian Mantle’s novel ‘The monk who sold his Ferrari’ and reflectively, this story by Mad Guy makes a sense of humourous comparison. Thank you.
what an idea Sirji!
The monk who sold his Ferrari, buys an auto in Mumbai.
Auto production increased 580%, minister for Industries proclaimed!