AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A RICKSHAWALA

 I am a rickshaw-driver and popularly know is `rickshawala’ in our part of the world. That is the name by which I am called. Sometimes passengers shorten my title and call out Halloo, rickshaw’ as if I am the vehicle that I ply. But I know what they mean and at once rush to their service. I cannot afford to have any false sense of vanity either.

I am poor but not miserable. I suffer poverty but no unhappiness. I fell proud to earn my living by the honest sweat of my brow. I thank my star that I am not a thief.

I driver a there-wheeled vehicle that you call `rickshaw’. I do not own my carriage yet but hope to buy one in the near future. Nonetheless I love the `rickshaw’ that gives me an honorable living. I love it with the care of a father and always ply with caution and tenderness. I keep it neat and tidy and protect it from rain and son.

Shall I tell you a bit of my daily life? Yes, let me tell you. You may find it somewhat interesting. I rise quite early in the morning, eat my poor but pleasant breakfast, and go out with my there wheeled car. At times I have to paddle a long way off before I get a passenger. As the sun rises higher and higher, my trouble increases. How difficult it is, after all to drive along several mounds of weight with no stronger things than two human legs. And often I have to run for miles without any income. But on the whole my income is good. After meeting the dues of the cruel, I am left enough to feed my family except on rare occasions when natural calamities disturb my work. Usually I work from morning to sunset, with a break in the midday for lunch. Generally after a long trip. I rest for a while and take some repast.

I have a home- a small but loving home where I live with my loving wife and beloved children. When I go out in the morning, my children see me off at the door. When I return home in the evening they receive me on the adjacent road. They rush out of my small cottage as soon as they hear the sound of my bell. As I go in with them, my living wife receives me with a smile and then sits by me fanning off my fatigue. Shortly, afterwards we all eat our dinner together and go to bed rather early.

But on top of all my joys I have a permanent fear which robs me of much of the relish of life. I have no security. I am now young and energetic and can keep off starvation by the power of my muscles. But what will happen when I grow old? Who will feed my children if I fall sick or die of an accident? Whenever I think of these problems. I find no reply. But I depend on God and believe firmly that He will give me and my family the protection we deserve.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LIFE

In a city there are more opportunities for work and employment. There are many offices, industries and factories in a city.

There are more school and college in a city. So there is better scope of education.

In a city people get more and better medical facilities then the people of village. In a city there are more hospitals and clinics. There are more qualified doctors in a city.

Science has made the world smaller. It has invented and discovered many means and ways of communication. So communication has become easier. In a city people can communicate with one another over telephone, telex, fax etc, through less inconvenience.

In a city people need not go to a distant place on foot. There are various types of vehicles in a city by which people can reach a place earlier and faster with less trouble.

People in a city have more scope of practicing art culture and literature. There are more cultural centre and literary clubs.

Since most of the people in a city are educated, they get more opportunity to cultivate their intellect.

In a city people enjoy more recreational facilities. There are many cinema halls, theatres, clubs, parks etc.

In a city domestic life is more comfortable. Women need not go to bring water, to collect fire wood etc. to light kerosene lamp etc.

In a city people enjoy more civic facilities. They get everything at their hand.

There is no unmixed blessing on earth. Everything has its merits and demerits. Similarly city life has some demerits then merits.

Air is more polluted in a city. It gets polluted in many ways. People can not breath in pure air. Besides this, there are water pollution and sound pollution.

In a city the standard of living is costlier and higher. People of limited income lead their life through much hardship. The price of things are very higher.

More violence and crime take place in a city. The criminals not hesitate to commit crime, violence, killing, hijacking and so many crimes and anti social activities.

Life in a city is more unsecured. People have no safety and security. Less scope of enjoying of natural beauty. He cannot enjoy the wide open sky above, and the green fields, beautiful flowers and murmuring streams on the earth below. He cannot hear the sweet songs of birds.

Sometimes people in a city get stuck in a traffic jam and as a result they suffer more.

There is less scope of getting fresh things. In a city there is adulteration (Bn/Ju) in every thing.

He is always in a hurry as if some invisible demon, the demon of materialism, drives him on with a whip in hand. In short, life here is so artificial that man soon loses his divine origin and become almost a machine.

Above all, a city is a veritable university for men who like to acquire wisdom from observation and experience. Someone has truly said: “If you would be know and not know, live in a village if you would known and be unknown, live in a city.

STUDENT LIFE

Student life is a period of preparation for all the problems that face the individual and the community. It is a period when a man fills his mind with the fuel of ideas to set sail on the voyage of life. It is rightly called the seed time of human life. 

There is no rose without thorn, on rights without duties and no pleasures without pains. No wonder then that a student has certain duties to perform. He has to discharge duties to own self, to his parents, to his family, to his country, to the wide world and what is more to God-

The first and foremost duty of a student is to acquire knowledge. But he must not confine himself to the prescribed books only. He must read newspapers, magazines, novels, dramas and poetry during his leisure. This kind will wide widen their mental horizon and enable them to be acquainted with many thing of the world.

A student must take care of his health because sound mind lives in a sound body. Good health is the key to success. In order enjoy a good health a student must observe the rules of health.

A student can go on excursion and picnic with his fellow students. All these things will bear good effect on him. They will drive his monotony. Excursion will increase his knowledge. His mental outlook will be broad.

School and college arrange debate, discussion, seminars and symposium. A student can take part in all these things and widen his knowledge. As a result he may be something great in future. A student can render many social and benevolent activities. He can teach the unlettered the importance of family planning, malnutrition, sanitation, population explosion etc. During the time of natural calamities he can distribute food, medicine pure drinking water and cloths to the victim. These activities enable a student to gain practical training in humanitarian work.