Its the quintessential "Rickshawala"

The common Mumbaikar is often represented in many a forms, be it the quintessential dabbawala who've been knighted by the Prince of England himself, or the quintessential working class women who take care of the home and their jobs. One such classic archetypal includes the often detested (for breaking every traffic rule of course) yet indespensable the Mumbai "Rickshawalas". The mumbai "Rickshawalas" or "Autowalas" as they are often referred to as, are pretty much the lifeline of our transportation system (atleast Bandra onwards otherwise we have the "Taxiwalas")...zipping through the choking traffic, manouvering through the pot holes, the rickshawalas are a regular excuse for public outrage in the traffic scene. My opinion on the Rickshawalas was pretty much in concurrence with the above, however I made an interesting observation today. There is a rickshawala that i see waiting at the Bandra highway, sometimes even near my office (which is in Andheri), and today i saw him buying vegetables (onions precisely) with his daughter near Malad Station. I keenly observed his facial topography with fine wrikles, scanty hair and greying beared..... as if the fight for survival had quickened the ageing process. I think the mumbai rickshawala/autowala is a candid reflection of an average middleclass mumbaikar who struggles for the daily bread, rearing a family, yet is happy and content....