Why I won't forget the day Shah Rukh dropped me to work

I was late for work. It was month-end, and like any other bachelor on their first job, I was running short of Vitamin "M". Catching a tempo to work would mean getting extremely late, while taking an auto would really burn a hole in my pocket.

Choices, choices... Shell out "nagad narayan" or reach late.

While I was still deciding, an auto stopped in front of me. Hopelessness won and as I approached the auto, I faintly recognised the driver's face.

Instantly, the autowala asked, "Film City?"

With a quick nod and confused smile, I countered, "Kitna?" He said, "Arre, madam pichhli baar aapne saatth rupaye diye thhe. Utne hee de dena."

This pretty much convinced me that he had driven me to work earlier. Without wasting as much as a second, I hopped in.

While travelling, I'm generally in the be-alert-and-awake mode. The auto driver, however, who could not be any older than 16-17, had an amiable swag about him. Even though I was preoccupied, I felt like having a quick tête-à-tête with him. That he had driven me earlier was another reason to strike a conversation.

I began with the most clichéd conversation starter: "Tera naam kya hai?"

And in a deadpan voice, he replied, "Shah Rukh".

Losing all sense of civility, I squealed. And let me tell you I'm not an SRK fan (not that much anymore - I remember watching Baazigar in my mother's lap... barely so, but I do) but you don't get dropped off by someone called Shah Rukh every day.

From his reaction, I gauged that it probably wasn't the first time someone had overreacted on learning his name.

I presumed he must wear his name like a badge. But he surprised me by saying that he didn't like the name. He reasoned that it's okay to have a name common with a film star, but it would sound pretty embarrassing when he grew older, to become an 80-year-old "chicha".

There were no clichés about him. We've heard sob stories of kids who cannot afford an education. I've also talked to other youngsters involved in child labour. Some of them wished they could continue studying. 

I was most surprised when he said he's okay with how life is. He didn't want to make a fuss out about it, he said, adding that he was better off than most people. Perhaps, what attracted me to Shah Rukh was that new age mix of melancholy and practicality. And if Shah Rukh Khan could be called good-looking (his name literally means "prince-like face"), Shah Rukh was way more endearing. He made me see the so-called underprivileged from a new angle altogether. On second thoughts, can I really call him "underprivileged"? He came across as an individual who almost didn't give a damn about the future.

As my destination drew closer, I asked him about the auto strike that had recently taken place in Noida. He said, "Dilli mein gas sasti hai. Sarkar ne bhaada bhi wahan metre pachchees rupaye se shuru aur har kilometre ke badhne par dus rupaye lene ka bola hai. Yahaan chaar rupaye se metre chaaloo karo aur har kilometre ke chaar rupaye lo. Itne mein kya kamaayenge?"

I asked, "Tune chalaya tha auto hadtaal mein?"

Shah Rukh said, "Madam, lekar toh nikla tha par baakiyon ne bola tod-phod denge tujhe agar auto chalaaya. Sahi bhi hai. Agar ek banda bhi chalaayega toh niyam ka ullanghan hoga."

I complimented him on his choice of words, especially "ullanghan", causing him to giggle like a little boy.

Thanks to Shah Rukh, I made it to work on time. While paying him, I said: "Today my Facebook status will be 'Aaj Shah Rukh ne mujhe office chhoda'." 

He parted with a familiar giggle.