Black-and-yellow riders in the storm

Pheroze yoursquore looking quite groggyhellip all well I hoperdquo Lady Flora enquired about her friend who seemed a bit slow off the blocks at their midnight adda near the Cathedral ldquoWell kind of I had a disturbed sleep last night and a seminightmare What with the continuous work that went on right below my nose thanks to the annual marathon Werenrsquot you affectedrdquo he asked his friendLady Flora replied ldquoOf course I too came in the line of fire What with all the hammering and yelling out of commandsndashit was not the best night to rest But I managed forty winks in the Cathedral once the event began Poor yourdquo Sir PM had nodded off by then so his friend did a mini rescue act by ordering pudina chai for them from their nearby adda That helped as he sat upright on the bench and seemed in a better mood overall ldquoPheroze you mentioned lsquoseminightmarersquowhat was that aboutrdquo asked Lady Flora ever the sharp listenerSir PM replied in a flash eager to share his experience ldquoI was returning after meeting my cousin Sohrab who lives in Bandra lo and behold we realised that all the roads heading towards the route of the marathon were barricaded hours before the flagoff Obviously I didnrsquot anticipate it However luck was on my side as I was travelling in a good ole kaalipeeli God bless that driver He knew his way around the cityrsquos gullies and streets like the back of his hand After a few dead ends all thanks to these unforeseen road closures he was able to drop me to my pedestal I was so nervous about this scenario imagine one of the cops actually told me that I would have had to walk a good kilometre to my home But this guardian angel ensured I reached home after giving me a wonderful darshan of a side of Bombay I hadnrsquot seen in decades He was calm in such an adverse scenario and focused only on ferrying me safely home Itrsquos when I realised that these good fellas are in a minority in the cityrdquoLady Flora smiled ldquoAha Now I get why you called it a lsquoseminightmarersquo I am glad you found a good taxiwallah They are such a rare breed I too have noticed how their numbers have dropped especially after the multiple lockdowns induced by the pandemic Previously they would be in sight all around my pedestal but now alas that isnrsquot the case I recall this one time when a driver was able to decipher an incorrect address that I had on me and dropped me to the right place I was indebted to the man and gave him a handsome tip Pheroze I hope you did toordquo she asked her friend ldquoOh yes yes I never forget these acts of kindnessrdquo he added ldquoIn fact I have so many such incidences to recall pertaining to them Whether it is dropping your forgotten precious legal files to your home or refusing to take lsquobaksheeshrsquo because it was Diwali or agreeing to ply on the roads on a wet July day Irsquove experienced so many special acts plus Irsquove also learnt so much about the city and how their lives were deeply connected to itrdquoLady Flora then touched upon the point that both of them and perhaps many Bombaywallahs are concerned aboutmdashtheir future ldquoPheroze I wonder how long is this tribe this imminently small number of taxiwallahs going to survive Wersquove seen passengers prefer the new taxicabs for several reasons for one Secondly are the laws friendly towards their ilk What is the local and state administration doing to improve their lot The senior drivers seem to be the last men standing clearly And the younger lot either doesnrsquot wish to carry on in the same profession one driver told me that his son thinks itrsquos not a respectable profession and is even embarrassedhelliphow terrible that must feel or that they prefer driving private vehicles where there is probably more money So many questions reallyhelliprdquoSir PM took his time to share his views ldquoWell there is a definite concern that we might be seeing the last of these kaalipeeli taxiwallahs who I will go so far as to call true guides of the city Irsquove been shown parts of the city that I never knew existed all thanks to them And they rarely trouble the passenger when it comes to asking for directions Yes you must be ready to bear the honking and the occasional use of bad language when stuck in a jam but otherwise itrsquos always been a good safe ride for me I genuinely hope my former bosses havenrsquot forgotten this key player in the cityrsquos public transport history and look into their issues I hope we are able to support and sustain their existencerdquoCall it coincidence or otherwise but they spotted a waiting kaalipeeli near the Cathedral Both glanced at each other and hopped into it in a dash A drive around Colaba was the plan for old timesrsquo sakemiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom