What is your religion and caste?
Hindu, Yadav. I am Aheer.
Are you married?
I am married.
And children?
I have one daughter who is 15 years old.
Where are you belong from?
Madam, I am from District Gonda. It is near Lucknow.
How long have you been living in Delhi?
Since I was 10 years old.
With whom do you live here?
My sister, and the children of my sister are with me there.
Why did you come to Delhi?
I came here because of lots of problems.
What is the story?
The story is, my father was a heavy drinker. He used to beat my mother. We were two small brothers and our sister. We were not able to tolerate the torture of my father nor could my mother. She took her life by poison, and we became orphans. I along with my sister came to Delhi, to my cousins at Sindhi house. He used to work in Allahabad Bank as a supervisor. We came to him here in Delhi. He got me work at a tea-stall for 70 rupees a month, this was the shop of Lala Om Chai-walla in Sindhi House, and I worked there for almost 2 years. Then I worked with Happy Travels right there in Sindhi House. I used to get 300 rupees a month. While working with Happy Travels I learned this job, dealing with foreigners. I learned foreign language also. While working like this, I met with an American foreigner in Yamuna Paar (trans Yamuna). He was a very good person. His name was ‘Mishley Orison.’ Today he is no more existing in the world, but I have never seen a person like he was. He was from America. He used to help the disabled. He got me when I was so young and was working in Happy Travels. He used to stay in Janpath hotel. He used to come to my office, he called me. Just as you are conducting my interview, in the same way he had an interview with me and asked all sorts of details about me. Then he started educating me, and kept me along with him. And he asked me, if you need anything then tell me. I told him that I lack one thing only and that is I have no place to live, please buy some land for me. Then he said, wait for two or three years, first you grow up. Then, after three years he looked in Bhajanpura for a plot and he bought 80 yards of land for me. It was worth 1 lakh, 25 thousand. At that time – 1994 – land was so cheap in Yamuma Paar. Today that plot is worth 23-24 lakh.
So, what do you do here?
Here I work as - like you have come to visit Delhi. I will ask you, madam do you want to go shopping? Or do you want to have your ticketing done? Or do you wish to visit anywhere around here? I have my own auto(rickshaw), I stand in A block. If you want to have a ride in an auto, I will give it to you. If you wish to go shopping, I will take you in my auto. I cater to the tourists’ needs.
For how long have you been doing this job?
Madam, by now it has been almost 30 years that have gone by while doing this job.
What all do you think while doing your job?
While working, I just think that I must get a good friend. I wish to do better than this work. And I could get my daughter’s marriage [taken care of] in a good way full of happiness.
What is the best job, one that you would love to do?
Madam, now this has become my habit. What else could be better for me now? Nothing could be better than this for me now.
How do you see life in Delhi?
I find Delhi – our capital – the best among all cities. It is good for the poor. If you are in Delhi and have no job and have no place to live, even then one can still survive here, can eat here.
If you ever get a chance to go back to your village, would you like to go back and live there?
No, now it is not possible to live there, because my entire family has been lost now. I have just 7 bhigha of land there in village and that too I have leased on contract. We do not have such fertile land there.