17 Nov 08: My favourite Mysore man – Maney, the rickshaw driver

There is a rickshaw stand just around the corner from the yoga shala.  The drivers based here are the ones service the yoga students.  It’s nice that I know a few of them because if they see me, they’ll stop and give me a lift.  I give thanks for Raju who’s given me a ride back after practice when I’m tired, hungry and wishing my yoga mat was much lighter.  Now, if he’d only catch me near the shala and not a mere 100 metres from my house!

Everyone has their special driver whose telephone number is on their speed-dial.  Mine is Maney.

Maney enjoying a quiet moment with his paper inbetween jobs

He was introduced to me in 2004 by a friend who used him on a regular basis.  I still remember him taking me for a tour around the city, showing me the best view of the palace etc.  He was an excellent tour guide, rattling off information about the city.  It’s just a shame that I couldn’t understand a lot of it because his accent is strong and he speaks quite quickly.  Plus sitting behind him means I can’t even try to lip-read.

I like Maney because he’s honest, reliable and more importantly, is an amazing cook.  In the beginning, he would never tell me how much I owed him for the ride.  ‘As you wish’ was his standard reply.  We had many awkward moments because I didn’t want to end up under-paying him.  He’s a quick learner though.  These days, he has it all worked out, even breaking it down to how each person owes him, depending on who got picked up when and where.

Maney is also very organised.  He has his own ‘gang’ of drivers and acts as point man.  All I need to do is call him.  If he isn’t able to take me, he’ll get someone else instead.  He also tells us how much to pay and informs the driver accordingly.  This is especially after we gave him feedback that some drivers were overcharging us.

Life as a rickshaw driver is tough.  Maney has to pay 2000rup each month to the leasing company for his rickshaw.  He also has a wife and son to support.  His regular income is taking the kids to and from school.  The kids don’t come from wealthy families so even though fuel costs have gone up, he takes what the parents can afford to give him.

The problem with committing to the school kids is that he isn’t always free to service the yoga students which is more lucrative but also less stable.  His sense of obligation is also very strong as he has been taking many of the kids since they started school.  He is also recognised as a ‘senior’ auto driver as he gets to park his auto closest to the school gate.

Maney’s rickshaw is very old and this year, I have seen the stress on his face when it fails to start or noises are heard from the engine.  He cannot afford to not run his auto.  In addition, the autos ferrying the school kids are also facing stiff competition from new mini-vans who are faster and more friendly in monsoon conditions.

Even then, Maney remains very principled.  He still protests when we pay him a little extra, insisting that we don’t need to.  He has even offered his commission to me when he brought me to a shop which gives him a little something for bringing in customers.

Maney was trained as an engineer and used to have a white-collar job.  However, he got involved with the company union and ended up getting fired.  In return, he sued the company.  In order not to give the courts any reason to file against him, he became an auto driver instead of going for another white-collar job.  The lawsuit has dragged on since I first met him 4 years ago.  He will probably win but the amount that his compensation will be very minimal.  His latest update is that a law may soon be passed which will make it hard for him to win.

One of my Mysore highlights is a meal cooked by Maney.  Not only is it simple, fresh and extremely tasty.  More importantly, it is cooked with pride and love.  We used to organise a group and go to his house for lunch because he always cooks too much.  This year however he’s taken to bringing the food over so that we don’t have to pay for an auto to bring us to his place.  He plans the menu with enthusiasm and I have to stop him from cooking too many dishes.  Today, he called me twice before lunch.  The first time was to ask if we wanted more or less spice in the vegetable curry (for some reason he thinks foreigners can’t eat chilli) and the second was to confirm how many chapatis each of us would eat.

Maney - “Four per person, Denise?”

Me - “Oh no Maney, three is fine.  So twenty-four for eight of us”

Maney - “Ok, I’ll make twenty-eight, or thirty”.

Maney’s wife doesn’t speak a word of English.  All she does is beam constantly.  It’s a joke when she insists on speaking to me on the phone.  Plus, she can’t pronounce my name.  To make things easier for us both, she calls me ‘Dosa’ because I raved about the special dosas Maney made last year.

When Maney cooks for us, we all chip in money which we give him at the end of the meal.  It’s a small sum to us but definitely something he can use for his family.  He has never liked it.  He insists that he is cooking for us because he wants to and not to make money off us.  I have yet to solve this problem.  When I leave this year, I am going to give him an Ang Bao and tell him that it’s a Chinese tradition for good luck, especially for his son.  Wish me luck!