Tell me the route

If you visit Bangalore, the IT capitol of India and the capitol city of the state of Karnataka, you'll find yourself hailing a rickshaw. It's a three wheel auto that runs on gas (some are powered by natural gas) or petrol as it is commonly called in India. Rickshaws are the handiest modes of transportation in most parts of India aided by a size that is small enough to allow them to slither through heavy traffic (the traffic itself warrants a separate post) that is now a disagreeable feature of Indian roads. Rickshaws are also rickety contraptions that have no use for shock absorbers and given that roads in India are dotted with plenty of potholes (distinguished only by their various amoebic shapes) they can make for a bumpy ride that leaves you with a sore bum and a few bruised bones.

As unique as the rickshaws themselves are the men who operate them. These folks are a wily lot and have the uncanny knack of spotting a passenger who is a visiting tourist. The hapless souls are then literally taken for a ride. I speak the local language, but I haven't been spared either because they seem to know almost instantly that I haven't lived there for a long time.

When I rode a rickshaw on my last visit, I informed the driver of my destination and settled in. Midway through the trip we reached a fork in the road at which point the driver turned around and asked me what route he should take. I had no idea. I later learnt that both roads led to the same destination; one route was longer and the other shorter. It was a neatly laid trap designed to test my local knowledge. Had I answered it right, the rickshaw driver would have banished the thought of bilking me of some money by taking a circuitous route that I'd never know was long and windy. I don't quite remember what I answered, but the question, the context and the guile with which it was posed still startles me.

I asked some locals what they would say in such a situation. One person told me that they would ask the driver to do what is right. Another said he would ask the driver to chose the one that took the least time and avoided heavy traffic.

Regardless, the next time you hail a rickshaw in Bangalore, be ready to be hit with that question and have an answer ready