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 (Where are you from?) Delhi bijness ya kaam karte hain? (What do you do, business or job?) naukri karte hain (Job) kismein (In which Company) internet mein (Something related to IT) humara bhi kuch wahin kaam lagwa do (Help me with getting a placement too) I just chuckled main try kar raha hoon engineering padhne kee. achchi naukri lag jaayegi tab (I am trying to do Engineering. Then I will get a good job) achcha? (Really) I asked a little interested. haan, Delhi mein Guru Gobind Singh Indraprashta University mein engineering ke liye apply kara hai. achchi hai wo university? (Yeah, I applied in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University for Engineering, is that University good?) haan, achchi hai, I agreed. haan, kal hee maine JEE bhi diya (Yeah, yesterday only I appeared for JEE) JEE matlab, IIT ka? (You mean, IIT JEE?) haan, Joint Entrance Examination he pronounced it perfectly just to make it clear to me what JEE stood for. mushkil hota hai exam? (Yeeah, It is a tough one) haan, 2 saal toh log padhte hee hain uske liye, asaan nahin hai I carried on the conversation. (yeah, people study for it at least 2 years, its not easy) Delhi mein Akaash coaching institute hain na? (There is an Institute by the name of Akaash Coaching in Delhi, right?) haan, hai. (Yeah) aapne kya padhai kari? (What have you studied) main engineer hoon, aur phir mba bhi kiya (Im an engineer, and an MBA) kahan se engineer? (From where?) IIT delhi se He swung back, surprised, a little delighted, and smiled. Ok, aapke liye Rs 30 (Only 30 Rs for you) Swati and I laughed. Swati asked padhai kab karte they IIT ke liye (when do you study for IIT?) bas, rickshaw chalaane ke baad raat mein. (In the night, After my work) Then he added kismein engineering kari aapne? (What was your Specialization in Engineering?) Chemical toh aapki chemistry toh badi strong hogi (So your chemistry must be pretty good) nahin, aisa nahin hai (No, its not like that) He continued, yeh bataiye....jab Mendeleev ne Periodic Table banaya tha tab kitne elements they usmein? (Tell me, how many Elements were there when Mendeleev made the Periodic Table?) 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? (Which Element has the highest Electronegativity?) Swati was laughing, and I didnt try too hard and said, pata nahin. (I dont know) Flourine, he said confidently. Without a break he asked,kaunse element kee electron affinity highest hoti hai? (Which Elements Electron Affinity is highest?) Now I was laughing too and said, nahin pata (I dont know) Chlorine. toh aapka kaunsa subject strong tha? (So, what is your strength?), clearly having proven that my chemistry wasnt a strong point. Physics, I said achha, Newtons second law of motion kya hai (Ok, what is Newtons Second Law of Motion?) 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 wasnt 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? (You didnt do your MBA?) nahin, mba kiya (No, I did MBA) mba waale toh sirf paisa kamana chahte hain, kaam nahin karte (MBA guys just wanna earn money) nahin, aisa nahin hai, paisa kamaane ke liye kaam karna padta hai (No, its not like that, to earn you have to work) He said arrey, rehene do (Just leave it) or some words to that effect. He didnt 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!
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 08:00:33 +0000
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