The Driver's Travelogue - Part 1

The Driver's Travelogue - Part 1

Raju was waiting in his Innova for the contact to call him. He always made sure his customers didn't have to wait for more than five minutes after collecting their baggage at the Airport. He took one more cursory glance at the rear-view mirror, checking his appearance. His hair was neat. The beard trim. The paan stained teeth....well...there was nothing he could do about it. The leather jacket he was wearing covered the nameplate, and his real name. "Raju" or "Raju bhai" seemed easy and convenient for him and the travellers as well.

The phone started ringing. Raju started the engine before answering it. "Haan Sir...I'm coming" he said. He looked at the picture of his family that displayed on his phone screen. Wife and two kids. He had spent only one day with them in the last month. Keeping the phone aside, he drove to the arrival section of the Airport. An other travelogue was about to begin. 

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Day 1

His guests were a family of four. A standard number. An elderly couple and their two sons. They were from Bengaluru- a place Raju had tended guests from before, but had not been there himself. He smiled at them. The uncomfortable smile of new acquaintances. Everything that would happen in the next couple of days - or even the next couple of hours, would set the tone for the eight days they would spend in each others' company. He heaved the suitcases in the boot and held the doors open for the couple in a gracious welcome gesture. The lady smiled at him. Zakhir bhai, his manager and the owner of the travel company, had imparted some informal training at handling guests. Raju always made sure he followed his little tips.

The elder of the sons sat next to him and started making small talk. His brother and he would be doing most of the talking, he said. His parents could understand Hindi but would need some translation in between. "No problem Sirji" Raju said. "I'll make sure Uncle and Aunty speak Hindi in eight days.." he ventured, uneasily attempting his first ice breaker on the trip. He looked at the couple from the rear view mirror. There was no visible reaction. He let it pass. He had eight days with them. Raju grinned and started driving. 

"Let's stop for lunch before we start the journey"  the elder son suggested, as they moved out of the Airport. But then, Jaipur wasn't the same that day. The Pink City was observing a Bandh in a peaceful protest of a central legislation. Internet was blacked out. "Aaj na...we should get out of the city as quickly as possible. We have a bandh. Check your Internet too. It is not working" Raju told the family. "We'll stop for lunch in one hour".

"Acha...are there protests in Jaipur too? I thought people here are happy with the move?"the younger one sitting at the back asked. This line of questioning irked Raju. He had an opinion on these matters. Not an elaborately thought out opinion. It was opinion shaped from conversations he had with his circle. But expressing it in front of his guests was not an option he had. Not now atleast, when the relationship was tenuous at best. The father started responding in Kannada and thankfully, he didn't have to respond. 

They stopped for lunch after an hour at a Dhaba. Raju knew these people and it was always a preferred restaurant for him. The food here was good. (and the guests would admit that too, later on). But then, there was always an air of skepticism when he stopped there. Did he have a "setting"? at this Dhaba, saying he'll always bring his guests here? Would he get a commission later on? The guests rarely argued with him. But he could smell their discomfort. And stopping at a restaurant of the driver's choice would almost feel like ceding control, for the guests. He understood all this - but again, he was comfortable here. There was no better explanation than that!

This family seemed no different. They looked at the Dhaba from the outside and were clearly not impressed. There was hardly anyone else, which didn't help Raju's cause. He called the waiter and asked him to take good care of the family. Half hour later, he was vindicated - as always! The family had enjoyed their lunch and were satisfied. "Thank You Raju" Uncle said, patting him cordially on the back. "The stomach is the easiest way to the heart" Raju remembered his mother saying.

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Raju could drive to Ajmer with his eyes closed. He had been there on almost every tour starting from Jaipur. The Ajmer Dargah attracted tourists from all over the country. Some were reverent, some wanted to tick this off  their list and most were plain curious. 

"Acha....why is Moinuddin Chisti's Dargah so famous?" the elder son asked. Raju felt slightly offended. Nobody referred to Khwajaji by his name. Tourists wouldn't know this, of course. He considered it his duty to correct them. "Pehle Sirji....we don't call Khwajaji by his name....." he then went on narrating the story of how Khwajaji had held the entire water of the Ajmer lake in a bowl. The family listened to his story with intent. As they neared Ajmer, Raju's phone started ringing. "Allah ne mujhko paida kiya...." his ringtone sang. The family exchanged confused glances. Raju finished the call quickly and continued the story.

The family finished their visit of the Dargah. Aunty had her woolen scarf out. The men were starting to feel the cold too. Raju drove them quickly to their Resort in Pushkar. The location of this resort put him off a little bit. It was outside the little town and was not a place frequented by other guests from his agency - which meant he wouldn't have much company in the night. Raju didn't really like locating new hotels. Nevertheless, he was duty bound. Uncle handed him two hundred rupees. It was a nice tip for a day's drive. Raju drove a short while to the main road and finished his dinner at an acquaintance's hotel. He thought of dialing his family. Decided it was better to speak to them in the morning. The drivers' cottage at the resort seemed warmer than his car as he drifted to sleep, watching a video of his daughter learning to walk when she was a year old.

                                                  

Day 2

He knew the drill for sight seeing at Pushkar. Drop the guests near the Brahma temple. Let them visit the temple and the Lake. Brahmin priests would usually pester the guests to perform rituals at the Ghats around the lake. It was Raju's duty to tell the guests not to entertain them. But if the priest was able to convince the family, then it was their choice! He understood that even the priests had stomachs to fill back home. 

Even here, he had a guide of choice. A guide who claimed he would narrate the story of how Pushkar came into being. He had listened to the story a few times and was fascinated. He had even visited the Brahma temple a couple of times. It was important for him to have contacts like the guide who would make his job much easier - like help him park the vehicle at a place more accessible to the guests. 

The time the guests spent visiting the places was the time Raju had to catch up with old acquaintances and make new ones. And they came in handy all the time. Be it suggesting hotels for lunch or new approach roads to monuments or even a new Paan shop round the corner. The Uncle travelling with him now had a rather strong habit of chewing betel leaf Paan right after lunch every afternoon. 

The family completed the routine camel cart ride by five in the evening. Hailing from Rajasthan, Raju felt the camel cart ride was a waste of money and time. Pushkar had no desert or sand. There was a clearing where sand had been dumped. A famous Bollywood movie had been shot in the vicinity and there was a Haveli belonging to a Thakur who had rented it out as a hotel. Some cherry plants were located around the clearing. Intelligent businessmen wove a package around this and fleeced the tourists - throwing in a few stalls where the unassuming tourists could dress up as locals and get pictures clicked. Yet, Raju felt obligated to recommend this one and a half hour ride to tourists - because most of them had it as part of their itinerary.  And not deviating from the itinerary was a golden rule he had to follow. Guests perceived value for money through how sincerely the driver adhered to the plan.                                              

Day 3

Raju could sense the guests developing trust in him. Uncle opened up and started asking questions in broken Hindi, translated by one of his sons. His love for betel nut paan would become a running joke throughout the trip. Raju had to consciously weave these little threads of light conversation before talking about more serious stuff like their schedule for the next day and what he wanted them to do - and mostly not do.

Their next destination was Jodhpur. Raju was eager and anxious about this leg of the trip. If all went well, he would have an evening - at best two - to visit his in laws. His wife and kids were staying there as well, which meant he could have a second day with his family in a fortnight, a rare occurrence.

"We'll first visit Mandore, Sirji..." he said, as the family tucked in to some Mawa at a roadside stall on the outskirts of Jodhpur. "Your Hotel and Mandore are in different directions. We'll visit Mandore and then I'll drop you to the Hotel so you get some rest" he paused, before adding "Anyways, I generally finish my work at six....but have to work according to guests' wishes!" He had tactically dropped his first hint that he wanted to wind up by six. It was a subtle skill - to negotiate without inviting the customer's disapproval. His manager was only a call away for the guests. 

The family completed their Mandore visit by five in the evening. They had taken a couple of hours. He had visited the gardens once and knew it was the capital before Jodhpur was founded. But then, how could someone spend two hours looking at a couple of rooms and a few cenotaphs was beyond him. People posed in front of the cenotaphs as their companions clicked away feverishly. He had a couple of pictures as well from the place too. However, the longer the family took that day, the slimmer the chances of him making to his in-laws would become. 

Once the family returned to the car, he asked the elder son - whom he now referred to as Guideji, for his translation services- to switch on navigation to the Hotel. The hotels this family had chosen was getting on his nerves. Each of them was away from the city. None were frequented by his friends on similar trips. The Dhani was on the other side of Jodhpur, from Mandore. As they moved further and further away from the city centre, Raju was disappointed. He would have to travel atleast thirty kilometres to reach his in-laws. Driving the car to that place and back was not possible - he would have to explain his manager why he did it. He couldn't ask his brother-in-law - his fond saala - to pick him up and drop him back. It was too far. When he called his wife that night, the disappointment in her voice was evident. He looked at the family - who were now having their Christmas Eve dinner at the Dhani. He choked for a split second, before his resolve took over. 

Day 4

The Mehrangarh glowed in the morning sun as Raju drove his guests to the Fort. He insisted that they be ready by nine in the morning and the family was happy to oblige. He spent the couple of hours that the family was away in the Fort cleaning the interior of the car. He deeply respected his profession. He became a driver by chance, but became a good one by choice - through sheer hardwork and loyalty to his manager and commitment to his guests. Nine thousand rupees a month wasn't a great salary. It was just about enough to manage his household. For his daily expenses, he depended on tips from guests. Paan was probably the only bad habit he had and he had no intention to quit.

The family came out of the Fort by noon and the visit to the Umaid Bhawan palace was complete by half past four in the afternoon. Raju was itching to go see his family. "Aap ka sightseeing complete...for the day. You rest in the hotel. We need to start by nine tomorrow." he said, with more assertiveness than the previous day.

"But we want to visit the Old City...it's a beautiful place with all the crowd and eateries." the elder son said. He was becoming a nuisance. Just because he had visited the place earlier, he wanted to show he knew something about Jodhpur. "Sir..the traffic is bad in that area. This vehicle can't go there." Raju responded. It was true as well. He would have to park the vehicle at least two kilometres away from the old city and help the family with an Auto. Then wait for them to come back. It was too much of a hassle.

The family was presently in a conversation of their own. Raju waited for the outcome. "It's okay Raju." the elder son finally said. "We'll manage this on our own. We'll hire an auto or a cab. Drop us at the Hotel. You go and visit your in-laws" Raju was pleased. A free evening was what he wanted and he would be getting it. However, he was worried if the family would complain - saying he was not being co-operative. The anxiety was always there. "Nahi Sir. Are you fine with it? Customer comes first. I'll do a video call..." he said, trying to feebly refuse the offer. He just couldn't show he was happy at the first instant. Another lesson from Zakhir bhai: Don't always show your eagerness to reduce your work - with your Boss or your customer. You are being paid.

Raju was free that evening at six. Jodhpur had never seemed more pleasant. For once, he was happy to be away from his car for an evening. He caught the train to his in-laws' village about thirty kilometres away.  The excitement was palpable when he reached their place. Son-in-laws always commanded a certain respect. The entire family sat around him as he narrated stories of his experience with numerous guests. His wife and him continued talking till two in the night, as their daughter slept peacefully on her father's lap. Raju felt he had earned the evening and thanked Khwajaji for fulfilling the wish he had made from outside the Dargah a couple of days earlier.

                                                                                -    To be continued....
                                                                                   
                                                                              -5th January 2020