Yet another thing I love about Chennai is its secularism. After a meeting with my friends in EA, I caught an auto back home. Me and ‘auto anna’ engaged in a conversation almost immediately. Initially, we started bargaining about the fare, then continued with me asking him how much he would make in a day and slowly, the conversation took on a different angle.
I realised that he was no usual ‘auto anna’. He had a set of theories which amazed me. Puzzled and a bit confident (he wore a skull-cap usually worn by Muslims), I asked, “Did you learn all those things from the Quran?”
“Yes,” was the obvious answer. “Read Khoran, or for that matter, any holy book, be it the Gita or Bible and you will find answers to all questions without any exceptions,” added anna . I was taken aback a bit because I expected him to boast only about his holy text, but his answer was a pleasant surprise.
He then narrated a story, with a sad ending. Confused, I asked him what was the moral of the story, to which he replied, “God always knows what to give or take from a person, so you need not ask him for anything nor trade with him. Just thank him for whatever he gives.” And I added, “Stop making wishes, start loving people instead…”
