A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

’Please hurry up. It is getting dark.’
‘If you are in a hurry, you may check
with someone else; yes, I will charge a
hundred Rupees for only checking the
vehicle. ‘
Gulping this insult, he said, ‘First, start
it.’
‘It is not my concern whether it starts
or not. If there is any major fault, then
repair charges will be extra. I am telling
in advance. Afterwards, I won’t have any
argument.’ saying this, the mechanic again
got busy with another work. He did not
care to know his reaction. He was having
intense reaction within himself. He had
the sudden impulse to return and try
himself. The increasing din of the traffic,
thickening darkness, rising dust, enveloping
smoke - everything together was increasing
the sense of insecurity in him. During
emergency in the plant, he had got the
work done by standing throughout the
night - despite all the tension, he had
never felt such insecurity, inferiority and
anxiety as he was feeling that day for
his personal car. Suddenly, he took the
decision that it was useless depending upon
that mechanic and he returned without
saying anything. He thought it of no use
enquiring about any other mechanic.
Finding a taxi, his management oriented
mind thought of an idea. He told his problem
to the taxi-driver and proposed to him
to tow his car home. The taxi driver asked
for double the fare. It occurred to him
- Saroj is right that if you want to run
the vehicle of life smoothly in Delhi, you
have to fill it with the petrol of currency
notes. Recalling this stratagem, he agreed
with alacrity. That day, Saroj said before
sleeping— ‘Our car has become old. Sell
it off and take a new Maruti.’
‘That is fine, but you know the price
of a new Maruti. How will we afford it?
Almost half the salary is exhausted on
the expenses of Punit and Navnit. Now
it is not the hostel life of our days that
monthly expenditure would be managed
within a few hundred rupees. These days,
the monthly expenditure of college students
exceeds seven — eight hundred rupees.
This is the monthly salary of many people.
‘We were having a nice time at the
site. We are caught up in Delhi. We are
yet to find any positive point. About the
office, you know better. In running the
household, I am facing problems only.’
Saroj said irritatingly, ‘Now, this water
crisis is another problem. ‘
‘What to say of the office? It may
improve after sometime. Till now, things
are so so. I am still trying to comprehend
it. I cannot understand the office set up
here. It seems that files also move like
vehicles in the heavy traffic. I am not
habituated to such an atmosphere. If I
move cautiously, there is a danger of lagging
behind. I cannot apprehend when the junior
person overtakes. It is an ocean Saroj,
where officers are sailing with different
100 :: January-March 2012