Uber Interactions in India: Part 2

 

Long read alert !! 

SK was not the first Uber driver I met during this trip. 10 days before I met SK, on November 14th we were in Mumbai. My daughter Amita had come to India for just 10 days and was leaving back for San Francisco that night. I had just returned to Mumbai from Aurangabad after 3 days with my friends. Amita wanted to spend time with me in Mumbai. She had expressed a desire to go around South Mumbai with me. Her cousins had given her tips about what to see, what to do and where to shop. They also helped us book an Uber taxi for a whole day to take us around these places.

At 11:00 am the taxi arrived. Driver was Sachin R( SR). Even before he had arrived my nephew who booked the taxi told me SR was a Marathi manoos from Ratnagiri ! Not that it mattered much but Amita could communicate with him in Marathi. Great !

So we set out for the Mumbai experience with SR. He asked us what we would like to see. Amita wanted to go to Colaba shopping , and to see The Gateway of India. She mentioned to him Haji Ali and he told her it was currently cordoned off due to some road work. He suggested seeing the Mahalaxmi temple instead. And added a slight admonition that ideally one should start early morning before 9 am to see these places 😃. We agreed. 

Leaving Santacruz we followed the Western Express Highway, crossing over to Western Bandra onto the beautiful Worli Sea Link making our way to Bhulabhai Desai Road. SR dropped us at the entrance to the Mahalaxmi temple and told us he would find a parking nearby. He gave us his phone number to call once we were done with the darshan! 

We walked inside the lane leading up to the temple. The line was already long and almost half ways out to the main road . We bought the thali for oti and lotuses for offering to the Goddess. After nearly 30 minutes in line there was no sign of anything moving forward. We checked and were told it could be a few hours before people without an online booking could move in. So we decided to not wait further. I handed the oti and flowers to a lady behind me in line and requested her to make the offering on our behalf. We offered mental prayers to the Goddess from outside the temple and turned back. 

As we got out of the lane Amita spotted a Forrest Essentials store across the road. She had wanted to shop there since the time she had come to India. We crossed the busy road and did our shopping for skin products before calling SR to pick us up. He showed up promptly and we headed to Colaba.

On the way he would give us information about some important landmarks as we passed them . He showed Amita Prabhu Kunj ( the residence of the Mangeshkar clan) , Breach Candy Hospital, Mantralaya amongst other things. Intermittently he would make remarks “ people come to Mumbai and first thing they want to see is Shahrukh Khan’s and Salman Khan’s home instead of Siddhi Vinayak Temple or Mahalaxmi temple !! “ Amita and I exchanged amused glances when he said that 😃. Incidentally, the day before, my nephew and his wife had taken Amita around Bandra and shown her the exact two homes that SR mentioned 😃

We arrived in Colaba and decided to walk and explore the roadside shops for gifts for Amita’s friends. SR could be reached by phone. About an hour of walking and shopping done and we were famished. Most of the places to eat suggested by her cousins were either closed or had a long wait. We decided we would eat at Delhi Darbar. The wait was only 15 minutes there. SR said he had carried his lunch with him. He waited for us until we were done with our lunch.

Back in the car, he took us to the Gateway of India. Unfortunately there was so much traffic and such large pedestrian crowds that we decided not to get out of the car. Just enjoyed the views as we drove past. His casual remarks about reckless drivers and careless pedestrians crossing in front of his car left us in splits. 

He drove us past the big Library building and courthouse, showed us the premises of the Reserve Bank of India , the museums in the area and other important monuments. Unlike SK, SR was much knowledgeable about South Mumbai. Apparently he was financially well off from a family business in Ratnagiri but chose to drive a taxi in Mumbai for some extra income. Many times it seemed like he had more eagerness to show us important landmarks in Mumbai than we felt it within us. He would stop , show us , tell stories and references such as this movie scene was shot here etc . 

He was also very adept at using Google maps and easily found the handicrafts store we were looking for in the area. That shop had some really beautiful things to take back for gifting. Once done with our shopping we decided to start back for Santacruz. We drove past JJ Hospital, my husband’s alma mater, and past Lower Parel. Showed Amita the Siddhi Vinayak temple from outside , Portuguese Church , St Michael’s and fishermen dwellings in Mahim. 

Just as we got close to home in Santacruz and were at a traffic stop Amita remembered she had wanted to get her eyebrows done before leaving. SR was amazingly supportive. He looked up for places in the vicinity on his phone . There was one just around the corner from that traffic light. He turned and found the place for her. We were worried it would get us late to relieve him from duty as the car booking was for only 8 hours. He was cool. You have time,he reassured. We got down , hopped to the parlour, got the needful done and were back to the car. He had found himself some tea in the mean time. He recalled we had earlier mentioned about buying some fresh sitaphals and oranges. He told us we could find those across the street. Again we walked to get them. Finally everything on Amita’s checklist was crossed off and she was happy. Her day had been better than she had imagined and SR had a lot to do with that . He had attended to us more like a family member than a hired driver. Encouraged us to do more things than we had planned. Remained patient and been helpful at every step. Not once looking at his watch and making us hurry. It was truly remarkable. 

We really got the feeling of jeevaachi Mumbai keli at the end of the day. Amita flew back later that night and I’m confident she will have good things to share with her friends about her experience in India. I’m sure SR will hold a special place in her heart as well 🙏🏼🙏🏼💕💕

Saree today is a gift of love from my cousins in Pune. A beautiful handloom silk from Odisha with a chequered body in deep pinkish red and contrasting pallu and borders in off white. There are fish bone and rudraksh motifs woven into the pallu. You get a glimpse of the foggy morning in the photos.