The man (and yes, it is always a man) who drives the auto is called an "autowallah." You will have to bargain with this man. Your bargaining might go as follows:
Autowallah pulls over, leans his body toward me while still clutching the steering handlebars with both hands, and lifts his chin (kinda like an American guy head nod but faster and jerkier) to indicate that I should tell him my desired destination.
Me: Jangpura.
Autowallah: Jangpura Extension?
Me, now holding onto the vertical bar next to the meter so that he does not drive away: Haan. G-block, Birbal Park ke pas. [Yes. G-block, near Birbal Park.]
Autowallah: 70 rupiye. [70 rupees.]
Me: 70 rupiye?! 70 rupiye bahut mahenge hain!! Chaalis rupiye. [70 rupees?! 70 rupees is very expensive!! 40 rupees.]
Autowallah, laughing: Nahin, nahin. 70 rupiye sirf. [No, no. 70 rupees only.]
Me: Lekin Jangpura yahaan se dur nahin! Pachaas rupiye. [But Jangpura is not far from here! 50 rupees.]
Autowallah speaks really fast in Hindi (presumably because the few words I have uttered convinced him I actually understand Hindi--which I don't) and I have no idea what he says, but I hear the words “traffic” and “70 rupiye” somewhere in there.
Me: Lekin har roz traffic hai! 60 rupiye. [But everyday there is traffic! 60 rupees.]
Autowallah does the ambiguous Indian head wobble.
Me (trying to confirm due to the ambiguity of head wobble): 60 rupiye? Thik hai? [60 rupees? Ok?]
Autowallah repeats ambiguous Indian head wobble and very briefly extends his hand backwards toward the seat to indicate I should sit down.
The autowallahs at the Birbal Park auto stand now recognize me. It's sort of unfortunate, because I know they are ripping me off and there is nothing I can do about it. They have all banded together and refuse to take me to work at the India Habitat Center for anything less than Rs 40 (even though the one day I managed to convince an autowallah to use his meter on my way home from work it only cost Rs 23--the ones who take me home don't know me). It has reached the point where words are no longer exchanged. I walk up to the auto stand, one of the autowallahs motions to me to come over to his auto, I get in without saying my destination, and I pay him Rs 40 when I arrive at work. We don't even need to utter a single word to each other.
Sometimes the autowallahs try to have conversations with me. Since they don't speak any English, it's actually the most Hindi practice I get. Usually we talk about my lack of a husband, and the autowallah compliments my Hindi. Often they talk really fast and I have no idea what they are saying. In those situations I do the ambiguous Indian head wobble and they think I'm following. One time an autowallah even gave me a piece of candy! (But be warned: the vast majority are not that friendly).
Autowallahs will drive everywhere: directly into oncoming traffic, in bicycle lanes, and even on pedestrian-filled sidewalks. Needless to say, some rides can be pretty nerve-wracking. But I trust the autowallah and actually have fun sometimes. Really, the worst part of taking an auto is not the crazy driving, but the open sides (see above picture) that allow all the road pollution to go straight into my lungs.
So I guess I have a love-hate relationship with autos and autowallahs. Most of the time it's hate, but in those moments of love, it's a lot of love.
you described a very EASY auto bargain! And your autowallah gave you candy! MAN! New life goal for me.
ReplyDeletehaha that's true. I should have mentioned that this is an unusually brief and non-frustrating example of bargaining.
ReplyDeleteI think 40 rupees is too much. You should have started at 30 :p
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's all really true, and making me incredibly nostalgic. I love bargaining with auto-wallahs... Good luck trying to pay less from your place to work !
(And I'm impressed by your hindi, as I only understand a few words. I'm trying to find a place here to learn it, but no luck so far).
Helene, I don't know how much time you've spent in Delhi, but I swear the autowallahs here are a different breed. If you start too low, the autowallah will shake his head and drive away without further discussion. And no matter how low you start, it seems impossible to get them to come down more than Rs 10. If you're lucky, really lucky, maybe you can get them to come down Rs 20. I swear, it's not like Tamil Nadu where if you bargain hard enough they will come down to almost-Indian charges! Man, I miss TN.
ReplyDeleteActually, I had luck : the one time I took an auto in Delhi this summer, I had a Sihk driver. And well, they're just the best, aren't they ? I bargained pretty well. But that's true, I remember having them just leave when they were either too lazy to drive to some place, or they found they could not rip me off enough :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, TN is just the best !!
But have you tried taking a bus?
ReplyDeleteYateen (a former TERIer)