"The Auto Hunt"

17^th Nov 2014. It was my birthday and an unexpected incident marked it's stamp somewhere at the back of my brain.

The day started with me getting a courier from a friend when I was in office. It was a great deal for me as I was getting a gift via courier from a long distance friend for the first time.

I left early from office with some friends and we went to a mall. We all were damn hungry so we went to the food court. We had just started eating, when suddenly I realized that the courier was missing. I asked my friend, X who accompanied me in the auto that we took to the mall, if he had seen it. But he hadn’t. I had left it in the auto. It was an important gift for me. So we decided to go look for the auto vala. I was thinking about what could be the chances of finding the package. Only if we could find the auto soon then maybe the auto vala must not have noticed that package as it was kept behind the seat and it could be still there. To add he must not have picked any other passenger too. As we had in mind that if any other passenger or even if the auto vala would see it then they would keep it.

We had taken that auto from outside our office. So we all went back there. We enquired at the auto stand. The auto vala was a Sikh, so we could be more descriptive. Talked to many auto valas and one of them seemed to know him. He gave us his number. My friend dialed and talked to that auto vala. But it turned out that he was a different man. We thought that may be he found the package and so he is lying now. But with the conversation we felt that he seemed to know nothing about dropping us at the mall. So we enquired further and the auto valas told us that he may be from the MG Road. One comes from there and goes back, so we could once go there and check. X and I decided to go while other friends left. We reached MG Road and below the metro station there’s a prepaid taxi stand. Many autos were lined up and auto valas were all crowed for passengers to come. We talked to many of them. Some of them tried to remember as per our description. Some told that they know someone like that but they all were like taking about different guys. It was all kinda mixed up and was not matching. They told us to enquire at the taxi stand and also that there is another auto stand some way ahead. We first went to the prepaid booth and talked to them. They told us if the auto vala brings the package then they’ll keep it and inform us. They took our contact details. We then went to that another stand which was quite far. There also we talked to many auto valas but nothing seemed like working. Till now one thing became clear that a lot of auto valas knew me and that the package was important.

I was getting this thought that we won’t find him now. He came from some other place only and won’t come back.

I was feeling disheartened that I lost the package and started to think about what I would tell D. I went back home all grimed. It was around 11:30 p.m. My birthday passed and I lost the gift. I called D and told him that I lost it. He also felt sad but didn’t say much. This was the thought that I slept with that day.

Next morning at around 9:00 a.m. X came to my place. He told me that we should once again go to MG Road and check. We could wait for some time for auto vala to show up. I was too low to go and it was very cold too. But I wanted to find that package anyhow. So I told him that I would quickly get ready. It was then when he told me that he already found the package. That he got up early and went there and he found the courier at the prepaid booth. The auto vala saw it when he reached home and brought it in the morning to the booth.

And what I thought earlier was that the only chance of getting the courier back was if nobody saw it. The auto vala could have kept it. Or even the pre paid booth vala. But they didn’t. I don’t remember the auto vala. But I would remember this forever. Hope shouldn’t be conditional. I applied so many conditions that I didn’t think for once that may be that auto vala would think that it’s an important package for someone and so he should try to return it. Nothing ever happened that made me distrust so badly. But this incident won’t let me do that ever again.

I told D that I got the package back. For once he couldn’t believe it. He was happy and so was I.

Thanks to that Auto Vala, Prepaid booth vala and X who brought it back. J

Photo Courtesy here