After landing in India at 4:00 am, we didn't expect anyone to pick us up from the airport, and no one did show up. So we took a taxi - a 1979 Fiat, which, with great effort, could only hit the 40km/hr mark. We were talking to the taxi driver - an oldish man, say about 60 years old, very naive looking, humble and innocent. To earn a fee of Rs. 250, he had waited in the taxi line for a whole of 18 hours! Yes let it sink, 18 hours, and believe it or not, it was one of his busy days. An off-season day would take him about 30 hours to get a passenger. Yes for the whole of 30 hours, he sat, slept, ate, drank tea and dreamt of better fortune in his jalopy. He still manages to sustain his life, probably other members of his family also contribute to the total house earning, but it is definitely a struggle. This is not the case of this man only; there are probably hundreds like him.
Yes fortune is not totally responsible for his state, but hell, it is a major reason for his condition. We on the other hand are fortunately fortunate. Let's thank God for that, that is, obviously, if He truly exists. It made me think, made me feel blessed, made me feel lucky, made me respect everything I have, made me thank my parents and everyone around me, it made me feel very fortunate, because I could have been that taxi driver.
5 comments:
One good aspect of people like this is that they seem contented at the end of the day. Despite the struggles they face, they don't hate life - from what I have perceived.
We are, ofcourse, more fortunate, but many of us don't realise this. With our petty problems and wants, we make life more difficult for ourselves and are often discontented and agitated.
In a way, I guess, we should learn to be 'rich' like them.
its okay karan...its kool
hi...ya so well....please dont think im real ass after this..but u know...there are many con men....
"humble and innocent looking" is what they normallly apear like at the surface....maybe he simply told you this in the hope of getting a healthy tip...whcih he must be gettting from many foreigners or NRI's he picks up from the airport..must be fooling the lot of you guys.
on the other hand of course ..this story might be true..whcih leads me to belive tht the taxi driver is plain stupid..i mean staying in the same place for 18 hours instead of actualli moving around trying to find a customer..is extremely ..well...as i said ..stupid.
however it is easy for me to bring up such situations sitting here in the extreme comfort of my house. WHile i do not want any1 to stop fee;ling pity for such people...we should exercise caution wiht pity...especially when dealing with people we do not really know.
thats my say on this....keep updating..its very intresting to read your blog..thanks a lot ...oh i would like to hear your say on my view....:P:P
gomezzzz
ps. - karan.....please leave the commenting to SMART people...cheers.
i respect your opinion aaron, it holds strong, but then again he was not the 1st taxi driver of bombay to tell us this. I still vividly remember, that the last time i went to India, the taxi driver that dropped us off from the airport told us the same thing. And i never said, i pity him, the point i wanted to put forward was that sometimes we are oblivious to our fortune, and these taxi-drivers serve as a source of realisation, which shouldnt just be pushed aside.
Yea, what u said about people concocting to earn the sympathy of passengers, well there is a possibility, but there is a certain expression on a face and a certain tone to a particular voice which cannot be created. We (as in my dad, sister and mum) felt it. But i agree with your point that we have to be very careful in showering our pity.
im sorry i read this so late anish...ive not been getting time on the computer...i know what you mean about the poor souls of india. And your statement about God did make me think. There are times when i think that god sucks and i hate him but then there are times when i think...i dont really pray that much so only when something goes bad do i blame the heavenly father.Perhaps sometimes god hates us.sorry for going off the topic...just wondering...
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