Reshma: Taxi drivers operate all over the world, well,
here's a day in the life of a local taxi driver as narrated by
Sojan T Matthew.
The man behind the wheel...
There are many who earn their living by driving vehicles with a
taxi permit. The last two decades have seen a big change in taxi
vehicles. Once they were all painted in black and yellow. The
taxis of today may have any colour and roam around freely.
Although the number of vehicles have increased, there is less
demand for taxis. Almost every middle class household has a
private vehicle nowadays. It is mainly travelers and tourists
who rely on cabs for hire. Also, taxi charges are not very
economical for a middle class family. However, the drivers can’t
be blamed for the high price the consumer has to pay. The
government levies high luxury and vehicle tax which drives taxi
rates through the roof. For the driver it really takes a
substantial amount of time to recover the capital spend on the
vehicle. Taxi drivers generally form a low income group. A few
of them make a difference when they actually introduce
themselves...
Mr.
Lalu Namboothiri is one amongst these. His native place is
Chenganoor [Pathanamthitta] and he is a graduate in History. As
his name suggests he is from a Namboothiri family (a family of
high caste) from Chenganoor. Although 30 years of age, he is a
bachelor. His father [Mr. Devan Namboothiri] was a priest in a
Hindu temple and his mother [Devika] a homemaker. Both died in a
train accident on their way to a pilgrimage site in Tamil Nadu,
around 11 years ago. At that time Lalu was an undergraduate at
college. Since his father’s and mother’s family did not bother
to keep in touch with his parents, they did not even bother to
turn up even for their funeral. All that remained was the 10
cents of property surrounding the house.
Invited by a friend named Anil who was a taxi driver in Cochin,
Lalu moved to Cochin to join him in this profession. Living with
his friend, Lalu worked as a taxi driver for 2 years. Then Anil
helped him to obtain a bank loan for purchasing a brand new
white 'Ambassador' car as a taxi. He had to pay Rs.3000 every
month until the loan finally was repaid by the end of the year
2000. All together Lalu paid Rs. 3.9 lakh [Rs.390, 000 =
approx. Euros 10.000] plus Rs.25000 to retain the vehicle,
registered in his own name. He earns an average of Rs.200 per
day which he uses to pay for gas (Rs. 32 per liter) and the
maintenance of the car. The worst time of the year is the
monsoon season when Cochin does not have many tourists nor
marriages that bring visitors to town [Jan - mid May and
September – December are marriage months here in Kerala].
Lalu continues to live in his friends place and is just happy to
lead his life in peace after the shattering loss of his parents
9 years ago. The way was not always smooth for him, as there
were times when he didn’t have money to change car tires or
refuel. He says that traffic congestions lessen his income as
fuel consumption goes up. Also there is stiff competition. Once
he was a strict vegetarian, but on coming to Cochin he realized
that vegetarian food is not easily available. So he began eating
non-vegetarian food - except beef preparations. He always
carries water in 2 large bottles in his car. He even drives on
Sundays and he has never been involved in an accident in his
career till now as he insists on safe driving.
He
helps his customers by loading their luggage in the back of the
car and is keen to know more about his guests if they are
foreigners - just to get to know their lifestyles. He is
commonly found at the Manorama junction or at the Southern
Railway Station. He regularly listens to Malayalam movie songs,
especially when he drives. By 0630 hrs every day he finishes
washing his car and gets ready after a cold shower. Then he
drives to one of his usual places, parks the car and has a cup
of tea. That’s all he has for breakfast after which he visits a
nearby temple. Even during monsoon months he wears garments
made of cotton material. He is very fond of blue shades and he
has a large number of shirts in this color. He winds
up by 2130 hrs and drives back home, looking forward to the next
day.
