The self and the structure is a course towards developing practice of thinking, processing and organizing fragments, objects, material, data and the other. Through the four weeks, the course developed collective ideas and reflections through a series of structured conversations.
The participants further evaluate and develop new conceptualizations to design the form of life in an organizational setting.
Auto rickshaw drivers
The practice that we studied was the movement of Auto Rickshaw drivers. We tried to map out the resting areas and the supporting areas of Eksar goan where they usually meet and spend their time.
Catering to this movement are various types of autos:
Sharing
Individual
Mixed use autos
The drawing supporting the collected data -
Early morning dew and the strong odour of fish witness long queues of autos aligned opposite to eksar talav adjacent to the bus stop and the school. Swaraj, a resident of Eksar goan makes a quick beeline towards autos, quickly chewing a mouthful of the sandwich his mother had prepared for him. He sits on the moist black leather seat of the auto rickshaw, a popular form of transportation that is peculiar to South Asia.
“Areey Swaraj! kama varti jath ahe ka?” Swaraj looks up to find his neighbour, a 35 year old Prashant, a gym instructor and a singing enthusiast in the driver's seat.
“Ho dada. Aaj gym la nhi gela ka?”
“Aaj me laukar gelo”
As the auto rickshaw whizzed past the Yogi nagar junction, black and yellow auto rickshaws stood out lined up waiting for passengers adjacent to the bus stop, which in recent times became a seating space for auto rickshaw drivers and passers-by. The seating Swaraj noted, was being occupied by hungry breakfast consumers whose hunger was satiated by tiffin stalls and chai walas unlike in the afternoons, early evening and late into the night when auto drivers are seen talking in groups or taking rest. Prashant dada had once told Swaraj that the Yogi nagar junction had a mixed group of auto drivers meaning that drivers were not involved in the sharing system alone. Some were seen engaging with metre passengers while others had agreements with small businesses like the Koli community transporting fishes from Malad and Gorai to Eksar or the chai walas or the food stalls delivering masalas and vegetables.
The rickshaw came to a halt in front of the station and his co-passengers got off, Swaraj pulled out his wallet to pay for the ride when a young boy handed Prashant steaming hot chai in a small paper cup with one hand and grabbed the money from the other, but passengers poured in so Prashant handed the chai back to the boy and started the vehicle.
“Bhaiya aap chai peelo, jaldi nhi hai.. 2 minute ruk sakte hai”
“Nhhi nhi baad mai pee lunga”
“aapne paise wapis nhi liya hai” said a passenger”.
“Hum toh aate jaate hai.. Chai kabhi aur pe lenge”.
The passengers were taken aback, but for Prasahnt who had chai everyday, it was nothing new.
Sometimes when there are no customers like during the afternoons, he would stop to have a word with his friends.
Apart from these chance encounters, Prashant would meet his colleagues every once in a while in general meetings of his auto group. A cheerful and friendly character Prashant is the life of these rather solemn occasions where they would discuss matters regarding their profession and their community. The Group emerged from friends, neighbourhood and family who helped each other with the most mundane of things.
One afternoon as Prashant was on his way to work, he spotted one of his colleagues fixing the television for a 45 year old rickshaw driver who had introduced Prasahant to the head of the union.
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