With Love from Allahabad

"... kidhar jaaoge saab?" was what the old man in white asked me. Chewing on a paan, or what i thought was a paan atleast, could have been just plain supari (beetlenut) or ghutka.I appeared to be a very likely customer, probably his first for the day. It was 9:30 on a monday morning in the bustling streets of Bombay, not exactly the place i wanted to be at this time of the day, but there wasnt anyone around i could complain to. "Haan Bhaiya... Fort area jaana hain. Chaloge?""Zaroor" came the quick response. I had my Visa appointment at 12. Leaving a little to early from home?? i dont think so... didnt quite want to take the chance in bombay... no no no!!! Also needed to get a few snaps clicked of myself.... for the visa. Dont worry i am not into self photography or anything.Quickly i got into the Taxi told him all the possible stops i wanted to make, and the man was on his way. It was going to be a long day i reckoned, with the traffic moving at a snails pace, the heat killing and the humidity kept reminding me of the cold luxurious shower i had in the morning.
"Toh Saab aap Mumbai ke ho?" he inquired. "Bangalore" i replied "Bangalore se aaya hoon.. office ke kuch kaam se""Kya kaam karte hain aap??service ya khud ka business hain?" he asked, as his thick white eyebrows turned into question marks. The question and answer session continued for quite a while. My taxi driver was from Allahabad and had moved to Bombay ever since he can remember and has been here till day. His first job he says is the best he could ever have got. Meeting new people, seeing places, and doing what he liked best... driving. Yes!! Hes been a cab driver all his life....errmm i mean obviously after 18. A few things u ought to know about Bombay... the spirit of the city, the trains, the wada paavs, the dabawaalas and the taxis. Over the next one and a half hours, as we passed the worli seaface, the famous haaji ali, heera panna - the shoppers nest, chowpatty, waves at the marine drive the man churned out stories after stories. questions after questions. Showed me all the places i had never even heard off, places i never even think about going to..."toh saab, bangalore mein bhi taxi hogi?" he asked with interest, bringing a big smile to my face as i answered his question in the affirmative. It wasnt long before i reached Forbes building. Taxi Chacha (lets just call him dat) said he would wait for me as it was just a matter of half an hour... i had mentioned to him somewhere in our conversation earlier that i had just an hours job at the consulate and then would be getting back to the same place i had boarded his cab in the morning.

...to be continued