Dreams on wheels

DREAMS ON WHEELS

Our mission at KONE is to improve the flow of urban life. To capture the essence of urbanization, we bring you stories of people from 17 cities. Uday Sinh Jadhav, an auto rickshaw driver in Ahmedabad, India, is a man on a mission.

“I, once, ferried a passenger from New Delhi who had lost his bag. With no money or proper address, the gentleman was having a tough time getting an auto rickshaw ride. I decided to help him. After a 2-hour marathon drive, when we finally reached his destination, his sincere gratitude made me realize there is more to earn than just money. I redesigned my auto rickshaw to bring positivity within my city’s urban mind-space. My auto-rickshaw is now a free library on wheels stocked with newspapers and a novel, free chocolates and toys for the children, free mineral water for the thirsty and some home-made Gujarati delicacies for the hungry and of course, a dustbin for Swachh Bharat (clean India). In return, my passengers pay me as they wish, in cash or kind.

I have been driving my auto-rickshaw across the length and breadth of Ahmedabad for over a decade now and have seen this city grow. It now has wide roads, swanky malls, exclusive Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS), towering buildings and of course, a huge influx of tourists, who frequent the city for its monuments and temples. That means a boom in business for us, auto-rickshaw drivers. But I put a small portion of my earnings into a little bottle, every day. Once it fills up with money, I use it to help those in need. My little initiative is helping me chase my dream of spreading cheer. Ahmedabad is a city with a heart and I want to ensure that it becomes the city where no one ever goes to bed hungry.”

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