For few, the day never ends, I am one of them. As I pull the hand brakes and kill my car's engine to park the car on the edge of lonely street and logging-off from the taxi aggregator's mobile app, I try to rest, sacrificing the comfort of the bed by choosing hard rubber reclining seat of my car with an old dusty pillow. Supper was usual from a food wagon. As I rest, I hear the dogs howling on the cold winter night, occasionally seeing them chase the passing cars, scanty traffic and city lights are my friends tonight. As I gaze at the hazy sky from my shabby car's windshield, thoughts tend to keep me busy, thoughts of today bringing a sigh of satisfaction, thoughts of tomorrow seeming fearful and thoughts of past regretful. Life moves on so swiftly, it appeared just days before I dropped out of my studies when I was 20, it was not the virtuous choice I made as a young man, how now I feel my life would have been contented, had I put petite efforts in my studies and graduated to find a desk job, but life had something else in store for me, cramped legs and fatigued toes, strained eyes tell stories of their own.
Struggling to find a comfortable resting position, I remember how dwelling in city was a dream which came naturally to me as young small town bloke, I was influenced by guys from my town working in the city. I often would see them in town during festivals or family functions returning in their cars. Most of the city dwellers of my town were of my age and often my school mates. They drove cars in city for the livelihood, serving the IT companies and BPOs by driving their employees for their daily commute. They looked happy, their families bragged about their achievements. With no jobs in town, diminutive interest in studies and no family lands to cultivate crops, I ardently decided that I want to be one of those who drove taxi for wages. I convinced my family that I would make a decent living by driving taxi in city, parents were hesitant but soon agreed as I had never seemed so confident with my decision. With goal set and friends to help me impart their driving skills, I trained few corners behind the wheels, and passed the Driver’s License test, I felt I have arrived.
With the newly printed DL in my hands, I sniffed the plastic card and it smelled like success, making a few color duplicates laminating the same, packing my bags I arrived into the city to drive around the commuters, I was petrified as I was unware of city roads and only person I could bet on was my best mate, with whom I shared a room now. The next day he took me to his Boss, who was stout man in his early fifties, curly hair and had enough gold around his neck to make any women mortified. With my friend’s endorsement of my trustworthiness, his boss readily agreed to employ me as a driver for one of his cars. Soon I was assigned the jobs for IT companies the BPO, the airport drops, the mid night drops, the outstation drives, I learnt the city roads as back of my palm, I met people who spoke different languages, who worked in different environments, the AC requesters, the smokers, the loud music listeners, the non-music lovers all sort of people whom I have drove to their offices, homes, hotels, resorts to all possible destinations in city and outstations. Some passengers tipped handful and encouraged me and few who weren’t pleased with my services, it was a lesson for lifetime that, one cannot please everyone.
My boss was happy with my work, my friend was happier to have recommended me and my family was the happiest for everything, I had lived my dream of returning to my home during festivals and functions just like the way other guys did. I always wondered if I were to be an inspiration to other town’s kids who wanted to drive taxi. Life went on and few years went past, I had saved enough from my earnings to make down payment for a new car, and the rest I could borrow loan from bank pledging the collaterals. I was confident with my hard work I could manage to be as big as my boss one day, who had a humble beginning just like me and now owned his own fleet agency and provided employment to guys like me. Buying a new car would not have been more joyous than my parents coming to city to take the delivery of the car from showroom. With my mother and father as first passengers to bring me luck, and returning to our town in OUR CAR felt like stepping on the moon.
Back in the city, upon recommendation of a friend I joined hands with a fast-growing cab aggregator company, soon life changed for better I earned four times as much as I did when I worked for my ex-Boss. With my new car, new mobile with customer location map, promising incentives schemes, soft skill training and now I was part of revolution in Indian taxi industry. I had numerous friends who were my peers in city, with whom I discussed our daily trips, experiences and often cribbed about nasty and irate customers. Often, I asked my passengers their wages and when they said it, I always felt I made more money than any usual desk job guy.
Things have begun to change for the worse, with never ending supply of taxis and drivers in rapidly growing city, private vehicles getting multiplied, the traffic getting worse with each passing day. The roads appearing narrow and average commuting time getting longer, driving is getting harder, increasing diesel prices, reduced incentives have slowed the revolution of the wheels. With the earnings reducing and competition increasing, future looking uncertain with only tomorrow’s booking confirmed I set alarm and close my eyes to sleep.
Alarm beeping and it’s time to greet the customer,” HOLA!! I am sUPERb Driver ”
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