This morning a young girl, maybe twenty-two, got in the auto. She was typing on her phone the whole ride, never once looked out the window. I took her the long way because the main road was blocked — she didn't even notice. When we reached Safdarjung, she argued with me for five rupees. Five rupees. She works in some office, has a smartphone that costs more than my monthly diesel, but she fought me over five rupees like I was trying to rob her. I told her beta, the meter is honest, and if you don't have five rupees, you don't have the sense God gave you either. She paid and left angry. This is Delhi now — everyone is in a hurry to nowhere, and nobody trusts anybody anymore. My grandfather used to say a man's word is his bond. Now a girl won't trust a meter that's set by the government itself.
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