Skip to main content

In Conversation with a Taxi Driver!


One rainy evening, I was traveling from Worli to Bandra and something so obvious happened; I got stuck in traffic. Until then, I was looking out of the window, enjoying the breeze with eyes closed, hair flying in the air, thinking maybe I'm a part of a movie scene.

Cut to reality, my taxi was standing between fifty other vehicles going to Bandra. Taxi driver and I shared a similar expression of a disappointed face. I don't remember how our conversation started, but it went this way:

At some point in our conversation, I asked:
"Why don't you drive for commercial taxi services?"

To which he replied smiling:
" Yes, I could have done that.
For me, afternoon nap is very important. I cannot leave all my priorities to attend a customer. That is why, I'm a local taxi driver. I get my own time and space. I leave the house as per my convenience. I return home immediately in case of emergency.
To begin with, I used to be an engineer in an IT firm. 10 years ago, I was recruited for a salary of Rs. 22,000 p.m. I worked there for two years, like a slave. I left that job.
It's been 8 years now, I'm driving taxi happily. I still earn around 24,000-25,000 per month.
To other people, I am just a taxi driver.
For me, I'm my own boss, a husband, a father. My wife and my daughter eat more than two meals a day, and do not have to  compromise on their happiness. That's enough to keep me going. "

Were you ever so ready for such a kick-ass reply in the middle of all chaos, in the middle of traffic? I was not. My mind suddenly created space for sanity, for a moment. There was silence. All I could do was smile at him. The kind man smiled back.
:)
Hope this has put a smile on your face too.
Let me know if you have similar stories to share.

Discover latest Indian Blogs
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 18, 2018 at 12:19 AM

    This made my day! We as humans are never satisfied and work like slaves to achieve more. In this race, we forget about other responsibilities and relationships but this taxi driver is a living example of how to find happiness in what you've got :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2024 at 1:41 AM

    sometimes you find an ordinary man with an extraordinary attitude.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Offline luxury

     It’s quite difficult to keep the thought traffic in control. With a constantly buzzing cell phone in hand, I often forget what I was thinking about and keep scrolling up and down my screen. To get a way out of the buzz, I simply turn off my internet while I am outdoors.          Believe me, my mind suddenly gets a breathing space. Out of all the time spent outside, I make sure at least 30% is given to myself where I can sit somewhere or walk somewhere alone. When I share this with anybody, they say, “ Why alone? You could have called me. I would come with you.” Then I say in my mind, “ That’s what I don’t want. I don’t want you to come and disturb me”. This sounds selfish, but I really can’t help it because I’ve grown into it. I am a single child. I’ve always played alone at home with my dolls.  My childhood was not surrounded by too many friends or cousins unlike the present. I love to be alone and being alone has never made me ...
7 comments
Read more

In company of a Rose..

Image Courtesy: www.bhg.com A symbol of love and a common element across Valentine’s Day wallpapers; A rose may have given life to many love stories in this way. But this is not in any mushy context. I’m specifically talking about a rose I received when I was least expecting it. I looked closely at it, brushed those soft petals over my palm, and thought to myself: If I had a chance, I would shrink myself into a miniature version of me and take a nap inside it. It was a hot summer afternoon. It had only been 8 days since my internship started. I was rushing to office. Heat and traffic were in good coordination. It looked like they had planned this in advance. It was starting to look like a bad day, and a bad hair day in addition. I reached office. I signed the register and wrote my not-so-ideal entry time with some shame on my face. As I was about to enter the office, the clerk at the reception handed over a rose and a chocolate saying, “Happy Women’s Day”. I replied with a ...
4 comments
Read more

Perks of Having Nothing To Do

Note: This is a 'straight out of my heart' blog like all my other ones, but I didn't feel like reading it before pressing the 'publish' button. Keeping it real, raw, and simple. Past six months, I have spent most of my time at home because I was extremely sick. During the day, I was either sleeping or thinking whether to sleep less in order to balance my sleep at night. I didn't have enough energy to watch a 5 minute YouTube video till the end. You may wonder what sickness was this. For now, I would like to keep it personal. Because I'm not here to rant. I just want to talk about the fun part of being sick. People suggested I should watch series on Prime and Netflix. I pushed myself and completed a few seasons of Suits. I went ahead and watched 'This is Us' which was emotionally heavy for me. Ohh! And how can I forget 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'. But it was all mentally tiring. I read three books: Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, Dolla...
5 comments
Read more