Walk a mile in his... feet

I take a cycle rick to the Railway Crossing, and after crossing the tracks take another cycle rick to where the office is. From my house to the crossing and there on is the "back" route, where the roads (as previously ranted about) are HELL! and 80% of the time after the Railway Crossing the cyclerick walas on the other end refuse to take the back route leading up to the office. The "road" is so bad that they flat out start whining and weeping like chokri's how bad it is and I'm left with the option to either walk to the main road and flag a cyclerick down or just... walk the entire way to work.

NOT FUN.
GRRRRRR!

Now there are a couple of cyclerick walas who do not whine and are keen to make 15-20 bucks. If I'm lucky (which I'm not) I'll get one of these guys and they'll happily take me to office. This morning I was lucky! It had rained last night and at dawn, and the "road" was beyond icky, it was just this gooey mess of mud and sewage, churned to a glistening consistency by trucks and bullock carts. While I sat high above the ground only forced to deal with the bone jarring bumps and the noxious smell, the cyclerick wala has to jump on and off the cycle and drag the vehicle in order to maneuver through it all and I know most of these guys do NOT want to bother with this exertion or cannot (lets be kind) and step into the gooey mess and get their feet dirty but this guy was UNFAZED. He not only jumps right in but takes his chappals off!!

So, off we go, with my cyclerick wala walking BARE FEET in this unholy mess! I was shocked, amazed and humbled. This guy just wanted to make a living and he is ready to go to lengths to make that possible cause quite obviously he does not have a choice. I'll be off from here in a few weeks time, off to better roads but he'll be here, working these very roads. The thought of stepping into that pool of infections and diseases is close to unthinkable for me, and even if I did, I'll be scrubbing me feet till kingdom come and go see a doctor to rule out any worm infestations etc. But not this guy. This guy will probably get to wash his feet, if at all, late that night or next morning and I know he cannot afford a quack, much less a doctor. He probably does not know what teems in this squelchy mess and how dangerous some of these infestations are.

Reality check.

Yip. I have it good. way too good, even if I have to walk to work and complain about the heat and dust and how much I hate this place, I have it good.

Feet, I salute thee!