In a surprising turn of events, a senior engineer from Microsoft in Bengaluru has been spotted driving an auto rickshaw on weekends as a remedy for his loneliness. The revelation came to light when a social media user shared a picture of him, sparking a vigorous debate online.

Venkatesh Gupta, in a post, described encountering the 35-year-old software engineer from Microsoft’s Koramangala office driving what locals affectionately call ‘Namma Yatri’ on weekends to stave off loneliness.

The engineer was notably dressed in a Microsoft hoodie while at the wheel. Responses to the post varied widely: some expressed sympathy for his plight, while others were taken aback by the revelation.

Ankit Shrivastava, a fellow techie, commented, “If true, that’s just plain sad.”

Another user humorously remarked, “They’ll start complaining about moonlighting next.”

This incident has also reignited discussions about language dynamics in Bengaluru, with one user jokingly noting, “This is what happens when you only speak one language in a city where more than 50% of the population are outsiders.”

However, the sight of tech professionals taking up roles like bike taxi and auto drivers is not uncommon in Bengaluru. Many techies supplement their incomes through gig work, a trend that has been observed for some time.

Previously, an employee of Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) was found working as a Rapido bike taxi driver in Bengaluru, leveraging the opportunity to network and secure job leads for a new role as a Java developer after facing a layoff.