An Auto Ride To Bandra

By Aayra Singh

It is almost mid noon

The sky is bright blue and the sun is hidden away in a cotton candy cloud

My Uber driver has called me three times to let me know that he is downstairs

I stare out of my window, phased out, unbothered

My eyes fall upon the angry man looking right and left, dialling his cell in aghast

I gather myself, take my bag, laptop, walk downstairs

I mutter him a brief apology and he speeds up to the maximum his three-wheeler can go till

11:11 am and the city of Bombay is already on its toes

Vendors setting up their fruit stalls, ladies in bright sarees selling garlands, morning breakfast sold at cheap prices, a guy on his cycle selling hot tea

Amidst this hustle bustle, the fancy shops in Bandra look sadly dull

Overpriced “organic farm-sourced” fruits and vegetables on display looking like pricey mannequins

Everything fades by like crumbling ashes and it seems like the uber driver will soon break his meter

A numbing sensation takes over me as the signal turns red and consumes me whole

It is how I have been feeling for weeks now, phased out, numb

There is a void as hollow as the signal in front and tranquillity seems like an unreachable destination

My thoughts are crammed up together so tight that it feels like my mind is an overflowing red double decker Mumbai bus

As the signal turns green and my driver takes a right, a bicycle passes by and I realise that my uber driver had slowed down

Almost as if he read my mind and slowly the sensation crept back in

The city which lit me up when I arrived here has now made me numb to my core

Deep inside, I know it is time to leave, to start afresh, to start to feel again

I reach my destination, step out of the auto, take a deep breath,

the cloud moves over and sunlight falls on my face.

By Aayra Singh