Slice Of Life: ‘Ran away from home after I was wrongly accused of theft’

Chennai

I have been a rickshaw puller for more than 20 years. I usually stand outside the Broadway bus terminus waiting for passengers. I would make up to Rs 500 on normal days and the earning may go beyond Rs 800 sometimes. I don’t have the practice of saving money for the future. I spend the entire amount on the same day. I spend most of my earning on alcohol. I have two wives and a son. He is working in a private company. My native is Kerala and I ran away from home when I was only 12 years old. I decided to leave home because my family accused me of a theft that I did not commit. After the incident, I did not want to stay with my family and came to Chennai. Even though my parents understood me later, I refused to join them and preferred to stay in the city. Rickshaw pullers have become obsolete in other parts of the city, but we thrive in the Broadway area due to its town planning. There are many narrow streets in the locality in which the auto-rickshaws could not enter. Persons, who are in a hurry, hire us and most of the passengers treat us with respect.