Aberration

Cried and cried, little Dorin for nights.

He found the clown but not the smile!

“Where could she be!” thought Dorin warily,

“Under a book or over the blighted sky.”

Three nights he looked through dying winds.

Then his wily jackal retorts, “She is a gilded liar,

Could she be swimming in the devil’s admire?”

“What will the devil do with the smile” said Dorin,

“He’s got no love, not even a knife!” “A liar she is, thus

I need her so. An illusion this pawn wants and the smile

was its rye all along. So wait a little longer, nothing is

on blaze and desire’s fork is still stirring my ire. ”

Dorin had just realized, what's a clown without a smile!

Daily Fare

The Mumbai taxi drivers remind me of Ben Gunn from Treasure Island. Marooned in this island city of Mumbai with no way out for a long time, they lead a very different life from the hyped ones you see in the movies and travel shows. Their lives shuttle between cramped living places and abuses of their passengers. Most of them certainly don’t have any million dollar dreams. They are just so busy to get by that upon asking them about their future they just, look away.

There being a ban on auto rickshaws in South Mumbai, I have to end up taking a cab to and fro to the railway station every day. Unlike most taxis in other cities I have been to, these guys near my place hardly refuse to go to any place no matter how close by I was going, which I am sure will shock a whole lot of people. They tell me, most of them earn anywhere between a few hundreds to around one and a half grand depending upon the timing of their shift and end up paying a daily rent of minimum Rs 500 to the owner of the taxi. They are often harassed by the cops as many of the taxis run on fake permit. Anyways, showing a little interest in their story always make them start blabbering about their lives and wisdoms they learn from the Mumbai traffic.

Most of them come from places like U.P. and Bihar and claim to be from respectable families and higher castes. Once I asked them why doesn’t he drive a taxi in a city closer to his village and he says, “In a city like Delhi or Kanpur I might be recognized by a relative. That will be embarrassing.” I quipped out a cliché, “But there is nothing embarrassing about any work” and he replies, “It will not be embarrassing for me but, my parent won’t be able to show their faces in the society.” That shut me up! Few of them are yet to get over their pride over their “superior caste.” A driver once told me, “back in my village we wouldn’t have allowed these people in our house and now I drive them to places. Remember, I don’t salute them, I just salute their money.” I guess that’s just his frustration speaking. Some talk about the sad treatment they get from other passengers. Some enjoy talking about the state of the cricket and keep on asking scores of any ongoing match. Some show optimism in the improvement in their villages and hope to go back as soon as thinks get better. While others tell stories about how they charge their mobiles using a generator as they yet to get electricity in their villages.

Most of them seem to be nice people. If they cheat you they will do it politely which, for me, after my experiences in Kolkata and Bangalore is perfectly fine. It’s amazing to see their capacity to struggle it out just to survive while we splurge our cash on daily rides in their taxis.