Autorickshaw Diaries
The Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation Employees Union and Telangana Mazdoor Union are on a strike demanding immediate bifurcation of the corporation and a 43% fitment in basic pay of the crew. The public transport company operates 20,000 buses in both States every day and cover 79.83 lakh kilometres every day. About 1.5 crore commuters have been affected by the strike though the RTC has been running about 10% of the services through temporary drivers.
In the meantime, of course, auto drivers and private taxi operators are having a field day. One does not hear much about call cabs tampering with meters but anyone who travels by autos in Hyderabad will tell you about their varied experiences.
Most autowallahs nowadays refuse to switch on their meters and quote roughly double the price to a destination. And as if that is not enough, they then start grumbling once they are nearby. "Bahut door hai, itna door bola nahi aapne. Ab toh thirty rupees aur dijiye," is a typical refrain.
Another trick the autowallahs use is to suddenly get the meter to conk off midway. "Arre, yeh meter nahi chal raha, tum soch ke de do, kitna hota hai." And no, none of the figures you quote will suit him of course until you have emptied out your wallet.
The fact that almost all autowallahs in Hyderabad drive as if their pants were on fire is simply stating the obvious. Nothing will deter them, traffic rules least of all. Which is why, even those who drive Sedans or sports cars cannot reach a destination as quickly as an auto guy can take you. So what if they bump into a few vehicles on the way or nearly run over pedestrians. Rules are not for them, you see.
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Then, there are the mirror stalkers. If the passenger happens to be a woman, she is in for some rear-view mirror attention. The autowallah pretends to be adjusting the mirror in order to get a view of the vehicles behind him. But in reality, he is giving the passenger a thorough once-over. Some women simply move around to avoid the gaze while some others show the finger. Either way, it is the most unpleasant experience.
There is this other branch of autowallahs who suddenly remember they have to fill fuel just as the passenger climbs into their vehicle. They fill petrol or gas at the next available petrol pump as the meter is running of course. In most cases, the meter keeps ticking at lightning pace. One auto driver once told me that all meters are manufactured in Pune and most makers oblige the autowallahs by hiking the meter pace between 10%-20%. "Ivvaala repu nyayam undadu amma (One can't expect fairness these days)," the autowallah told me when I asked him if it was not unfair.
This is not to say that there aren't honest or safe-driving autowallahs in Hyderabad. Yes there are examples but these are few and far between. This is not a city like Mumbai where taxi drivers are usually honest and the ones who overcharge are an exception.
It is no wonder that people in Hyderabad are nowadays preferring pre-paid cabs or autos which might charge a bit more but at least one is guaranteed a peaceful journey.
Search for a Secretariat
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who met the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar recently, has sought 60 acres of defence land in the Gymkhana and Bison Polo Grounds to build the new Secretariat. TRS leaders say Parrikar has reacted positively and has asked defence ministry officials to examine the proposal. KCR had earlier said he was planning to shift the Secretariat to the Chest Hospital in Erragadda but ran into some legal complications there.
During his meeting with Parrikar, the Chief Minister also sought a Sainik school in Warangal and Mahabubnagar districts and requested the latter to lift curbs by defence authorities on roads in the Cantonment area which inconveniences civilians.
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Sons in America
Both Nara Lokesh Naidu (Chandrababu Naidu's son) and Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao (KCR's son) are in the US making their pitch for investments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. While Rama Rao is busying himself with official meetings such as those with Boeing, DE Shaw, KPMG and India's ambassador in the US, Lokesh is focusing on bringing in funds from the Andhra-Telugu fraternity in the US. Of course, Lokesh has also managed to meet President Barack Obama at a "pay and greet" gathering. But apart from a photo op, one wonders if this would mean anything else. In fact, it was quite amusing to see how both Lokesh and Rama Rao arrived in the US, dressed in similar tee-shirts, giving out the "casual American" look. This was before they changed into formal suits. A mere glance at the tee-shirt photos and one would say that Lokesh needs to lose some weight before mastering this casual look. In fact, his figure resembles that of his podgy father-in-law actor and TD MLA Balakrishna, quite a bit.
The Mani magic
Mani Ratnam's OK Bangaram may not be on par with his best films but it has a breezy feel about it. The story of a young couple Aadi (Dulquer Salmaan (Malayalam star Mammootty's son) and Tara (Nitya Menon), who opt for a live-in relationship, is handled with an expert hand. A R Rahman too seems to have rediscovered his magic again and delivers some soulful music which boosts OK Bangaram tremendously. The background music, especially, is superb. Whenever Aadi calls Tara on her mobile, we hear this short burst of a crescendo, which perks you up to their instant chemistry. Dulquer Salmaan has acted in over 15 films already but Telugu audiences are seeing him for the first time. Aadi essays his role of an animation gaming developer with ease. He smiles, sings, runs behind buses in which his lady love is travelling, convinces his house owner Ganapathy (Prakash Raj) to let his girlfriend move in, so smoothly that he appears like the guy every young girl would love to marry. It helps that he seems to have a six pack underneath those well-fitting tee-shirts and jeans. As for Prakash Raj, well, there's really no role he can't fit into. He excels in the role of an elderly man who watches his wife, an Alzheimer’s patient, go from bad to worse, in stoic pain. I loved the scenes where he is shown cooking, cutting bhendis, pounding spices as the cooker whistles away.
Of course, there are the typical Mani Ratnam cliches, primarily rain. Rain plays a huge part in most of the developments in the movie and primarily in its extremely predictable climax. The advice offered by the wise Prakash Raj to Nitya Menon who realises that she wants more than a live-in, the arguments between the couple, a meeting in the railway station, the uppity divorced mother of Tara, the excessive attention to background detail, the naming of Mumbai as Mumbai 2.0, all these are typically Mani Ratnam. And yes, when Aadi calls out "oye" to draw Tara's attention, it is Dil Se all over again. The best part of the movie though, was Telugu actor Nani, who has dubbed for Dulquer Salmaan. Nani's voice and Aadi's character are totally in sync.
