I wanted to buy something small to remember my trip.
Tuk tuks (autos) are everywhere, buzzing around, getting you quickly to your destination, usually breaking the traffic laws. They are so abundant that it’s easy to forget that they are a symbol of India. Helene suggested buying a toy tuk tuk to bring home.
Last night, on the way home, the taxi driver pointed to a lively area which, he said, was “Arabic”. It was walking distance from my hotel. This was the area around Commercial Street. Coincidentally, there were a few toy shops there.
Before I got to Commercial Street, I came across a toy shop. They had several toy tuk tuks to choose from. I rejected the first few made of plastic. The owner was sure he had one that I would like. He sent his daughter to every nook and cranny in the shop, including the store room. Eventually, she did find one that I liked the look of. That was a relief. I thought it might be quite a hunt finding one.
When it came to paying, the owner didn’t know the price of the model! He started looking on his computer. This was taking far too long. I looked at some of the rejected models that had prices on them. I suggested a similar price, adding some rupees because my one was made of metal. The owner was happy with my price.
After paying, I went to take the toy but the owner said it didn’t have a box. I said it was fine. He insisted the tuk tuk needed protecting! So he went looking for a similar sized boxed toy. When he found one, he removed the toy from the box, and put my tuk tuk in it!
Sometimes, you meet people who are so considerate, courteous, and professional that you have to admire them.
I did eventually get to my original destination — Commercial Street! It’s full of shops and also has a thriving market, selling just about everything. It was busy. I walked around and ended up at a church, which I briefly visited.
The following day, I returned to the bookshops on Church Street. There were a few books on my shopping list. One was about Indian economic development (called Breaking the Mould). This was an antidote to another book I recently bought (India is Broken).
I also bought The Gujaratis, a history of the people. I had postponed buying this because it was in hardback and too bulky to carry around. Now that I was leaving, I didn’t have to carry it for long.