{"id":666,"date":"2007-07-18T07:26:04","date_gmt":"2007-07-18T02:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/calamur.org\/gargi\/?p=666"},"modified":"2007-07-18T07:26:04","modified_gmt":"2007-07-18T02:26:04","slug":"the-taxi-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calamur.org\/gargi\/2007\/07\/18\/the-taxi-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"The Taxi Driver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gargi\/793368237\/\" title=\"Photo Sharing\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1037\/793368237_60699d384c.jpg?resize=500%2C375\" alt=\"taxi driver\" \/><\/a>  There was a time when a taxi ride was a treat. I have chlidhood memories of travelling by taxi between Churchgate and Colaba. The taxi driver was invariably a Sardar in a white outfit with a great turban. As a child, i was fascinated by the taxi and the fact that it could go anywhere, and the men who drove it were the equivalent of knights in shining armour &#8212; you must also remember that in the time I grew up Taxi Drivers, coolies and trade union workers were represented as heroes in films. Today, they may have been marginalised &#8212; but in those days, they had an aura. A taxi trip is something that one anticipated and looked forward too. But today, in the suburbs, with a whole bunch of cheap, air-conditioned vehicles for hire, and a car of my own &#8212; the prospect of going by taxi is actually minuscule.  A a few weeks ago,however,  i did catch one from Vashi back home. The driver was an old Sardarji &#8212; must have been about 75. Had fascinating eyes &#8211; a wonderful voice and a great sense of narrative. He had got year some time after independence and started working here driving his cab. The Bombay that he knew and the Mumbai that it has become &#8212; are two different places. He spoke about the demographics of everything &#8211; from &#8216;women of negotiable virtues&#8217; to the ethnographic profile of vegetable vendors and how it changed over the decades. He had a view on practically everything. And I wished that i could make a documentary on him. Somehow &#8212; in this crazy rush to produce beautifully packaged fluff &#8212; are we forgetting the real stories? The interesting ones?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was a time when a taxi ride was a treat. I have chlidhood memories of travelling by taxi between Churchgate and Colaba. The taxi driver was invariably a Sardar in a white outfit with a great turban. 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