This Singh is not all that Bling: Starting up at 65

You can very call it a rip off of Humans of New York or of Mumbai or which ever part of the world you live in. The fact is that the world around us is filled with incredible people with incredible stories. They are not some special beings with a nimbus on top but everyday people going about their everyday jobs. Meet Mr Singh, a Cab Driver in New Delhi. He picked me from the airport and was polite and courteous. He was using OLA which is quite common these days but what led to the conversation was the fact that he looked quite old to be using an App based service. No offence but he didnot fit the profile of an OLA cab driver incase there was a profile. So as a starter in relation with his age I asked him how long was he driving a cab. “One and half months” came the reply. This intrigued me and then came the story.

Mr Singh is 65 years old , married with 4 kids (2 boys and 2 girls). He had started driving a cab couple of months back at the grand old age of 65. Oddly enough he has never been a driver before. No, he didnt graduate to cab driving after driving some one or some thing else in the past. What he was previously, was a manager cum owner of a 10-15 truck company which he lost a year back due to bad business. His life savings were spent on settling his two sons and marrying off his two daughters. As luck would have it or bad luck, the sons werent supporting him after the loss and well how can you ask the daughters? After facing such a major setback at his age he didnt back down and being a proud man he was, Mr Singh decided to work and not ask. There was a typical outrage amongst his friends (so called) about his going back to a job that too of a cab driver. He wasnt very qualified you see , no degrees and all that. There was pressure from all sides  and yet the pride in him decided his course. By his own admission he has been on the road for past 45-50 days, having a gruelling 10-12 hour shifts. Starting at 8 in the morning till 10 in the night. Its tiresome and not really age appropriate. He said that it was possible only due to his health (god has been kind he said) which atleast was not failing him (unlike his children).

As the ride was coming to an end and when I asked him why his children were not helping him, he replied candidly, that his sons were a reflection of their upbringing and he was saddenned how they had turned out. About his daughters, he said that he has always been giving them something on various ocassions and festivals and it is his last wish that he should never be in a position to ask them ...ever. No bling for this Singh just pride. Hats off ..Carpe Diem