There is neither a challan for over charging nor a morcha against this robbery.

An exhilarating taste lingers on the tongue as you drive into Chennai on the so called Express Highway but while returning from Jayalalita’s republic the feeling, if not the taste, will be bitter. It is the degree coffee, or to be more precise Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, that will have invigorated you but the mood spoilers are the notorious auto drivers of Chennai who are a law unto themselves. The KDC is available on the highway with roadside flexies drawing your attention to this special cup of cheer. As a coffee buff I had heard of and savoured fresh, filter and instant coffee. Degree coffee? Well, it was a different cup. And what is Kumbakonam’s role here? 

After gulping down the hot brew, served in a copper cup, I chatted with the owner to get to the bottom of the coffee mystery. As he explained in Tamilinglish pure milk is used in preparing the degree coffee. The milk’s strength is in degrees as measured by the lactometer. Hence it is christened degree coffee. The brownish white froth at the cup’s surface is a sure proof that the milk is undiluted. Fine. But why Kumbakonam? Well, it was first marketed in Kumbakonam years ago by an enterprising Iyer. And now KDC has gone places.

Refreshed with this brew you reach Chennai where the auto driver is waiting to fleece you. The three-wheelers are officially fitted with meters but the contraption is in Manmohan Singh mode. The meter does not talk but the driver dictates. He fixes the rate and if you know the lingua franca of the terrain you can haggle and get 10 to 20 per cent discount. If not you shell out the fare as demanded by the driver. If it is to the US consulate for visa then they charge you airfare!

It is a thriving business in Chennai aided by and abetted by the police. An auto driver from Vannarpet in Bangalore, who has now relocated to Chennai, spilled the beans. In pure Tamilgannada he explained that his day’s earnings (loot?) equalled what four of his counterparts in the Silicon City earned in the same period. That’s why she shifted his gear to Chennai. Its climate may not be salubrious like Bangalore’s but the earnings are and he is making merry.

Tamil Nadu netas promise freebies galore to the electorate but no one promises a metered auto service in Chennai. If only Jayalalita pays half the attention that she pays to demand Cauvery waters she can perhaps discipline them. The grapevine has it that the three wheelers are owned by either the policemen or politicians.

So there is neither a challan for over charging nor a morcha against this 24×7 robbery. The meter is thus an honorary gadget fitted to the vehicle. The driver can as well discard it and save money. Compared to them not all of Bangalore’s automen aren’t that bad. Are they?

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Right in the Middle / by H N Ananda / August 09th, 2013