A lazy Sunday morning and a long drive led to the making of a memorable conversation between two strangers. A conversation that ended on a very happy note, after wishing each other good luck for the journey ahead. However, there was a slight discomfort on both ends. The Uber driver excitedly wished to share more about his life and I wanted to know more about a driver’s life. Suppressed my curiosity, paid the fare expense and walked towards my class, my destination. Thoughts about his life’s unrest and how he used to spend his nights in the car he drove made me feel restless throughout the day. It wouldn’t have been easy to live in a car, without having loved ones around, without having anybody to share joys and sorrows with or to not have the luxury of eating 3 full meals a day.
It wasn’t his car that he was driving but some relative’s whose young son had been killed by a group of local men in Murthal some time back. The driver was from Amritsar and spoke to me in fluent Punjabi. It was a treat to witness such fluency. He told me about how his relative would pay him less if he had not completed 12 rides per day. On completing them, he would earn only 1000 bucks. He had been a driver for some news channel before taking up this job. I had Goosebumps listening to him as he shared some appalling crime stories he got acquainted with. We expressed our disappointment and anger over the judicial system and how people never opened their mouths over some hideous crimes under the fear of being killed by the perpetrators.
In no time, the journey came to an end. The smile on the driver’s face and the spark in his eyes after having a healthy conversation became a pleasing sight for me. As I walked towards my class, I gave him a 5 star rating and hoped to see this inspiring man again. I don’t think I can ever forget the driver’s perpetual energy, his strength to live each day with a bright smile on his innocent face.
-By Pooja Ahuja