A Woman In The Auto

Today in the morning I was in a hurry to go to college. Reporting sharply at 9 for the exam was mandatory. The continuous rain and the traffic at the main road were irritating me a lot. Waited for an auto in the rain… under my violet color umbrella. Waited. Waited. Waited.… finally into an auto … I was busy in counting the number of coins in my hand mean while a WOMAN came and sat opposite to me. A school going kid and her parents were beside the woman. A college going girl was beside me.

The woman was active. Her eyes were sharp. She was interacting with the co-passengers. In fact, she was interacting with the strangers very freely. I felt her little dominating.

In the next stop, the girl beside me went and an uncle with his umbrella sat beside me. He held it ‘ulta’ … As expected she corrected him to hold it the other way … ‘Why was she bothered about it?!’ was the uncle’s expression. Couldn’t she mind her own business? Well, this irritated every one.

I was in my own trance thinking about the exam, the time, least bothered about my surroundings. Near the school, the kid and parents were about to drop down. While attending her call, her dhupatta stuck to the bag. They dropped down … along the bag came her dhupatta … Though they apologized she kept a disgusting expression on her face. Everyone in the auto felt a simple ‘it’s ok’ could be better.

The seats on either of her sides were empty… I was waiting her to move I wanted to sit the other side to make myself comfortable. She saw me and moved a bit. She has a short length hair – plait with lots of big black pins. I cannot describe her dress as her dhupatta covered her dress, but one thing her mind was dressed with confidence. She ended her call and asked the auto-driver to stop exactly near the two Lorries. She said the company’s name, I suppose. I remember, I saw the same name on her handbag.

She dropped. I moved towards the window. I saw her. Astonished, shocked, bewildered. I saw her again to conform it.

She has no right arm. If no arm, was she the same woman?! Auto began to move… Yes! She was the same woman. Woman with no right arm. Probably because of some accident in her past. I don’t know exactly what it was. I kept looking at her. A psychiatrist in me, woke up and took a rewind of the entire scene.

In the beginning, she was neither overacting nor dominating … She was interacting so as to drive away the feeling of her pain, her depression, her emptiness. She has a positive look on her life. She did not find fault in the umbrella uncle. She only corrected & helped him to handle it in a right way. She had a disgusting expression on her face… as attending the call and adjusting the dhupatta with one hand is really difficult. She had a willingness to help others but not to get help from others.

She’s going … she’s going to work. How determined and independent was she! “Let the world be against you, criticize you, but never come into the world’s words. Believe in your own capabilities. Let the world misunderstand you. Give it a chance… the only last chance to think negative about you. Let the time reveal everything”. This was in her heart.

The description of her in the beginning is how the world looks at her. This description is how she looks at herself. This description is beautiful. It is said that, in this world we tend to underestimate the most b’ful hearted ones. In this case it is true.

May be she was criticized of her lost arm and that’s why determined to live. It is not easy to understand anyone completely. What appears from the outside is not true. We have to look into the person’s heart to know him/her. Estimating someone may not always give the correct result. For a moment I thanked God for what I have.

Being positive, determined, independent, helpful has a great impact on one’s life! There was no sign of sad or lost feeling in her. I deeply respect her from the bottom of my heart !!!