Everything the Stranger Saw

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I have never really been an early riser (maybe because I don't fancy worms!) but the corporate work routine is grueling and there are no excuses about office timings, neither officially nor ethically. Mornings start invariably at 9 and it's all good up until 9.15. If you make it to the office before that, no one is going to pat you on the back and say "shabaash"; if you are late, there can be consequences. Now that winters are here, my case is getting worse. Mostly these days, I just cannot make myself to get up with the alarm (a cruel 7.15 am beep) so I sleep the extra forty minutes and take a cab to work instead of the regular commuting on the "route" van. They are interesting characters, these taxi drivers and I have absolutely hated them since as long as I can remember, precisely why I prefer to travel on foot or use buses and vans, but since it is a need now, nay necessity, I'm trying to work around the hatred and developing some tolerance for them.

The whole journey may not be likable but it makes for some interesting observations. Every taxi driver is a different person but there are professional traits that are common to all of them. They all feel a little regretful, if you accept the first fare that they ask you for. They all try to bargain for the extra twenty, if you do not. They all try to be talkative even if they are not naturally garrulous, and they look for responses. They all think that they know the way better than their passengers, even when they literally have no clue about where to go in which case they would ask, but only with a skeptical expression on their faces.

However, there are differences too. Among the things that are unique, one would be the music they play! The occasional religious driver would play naats or qawwalis and sometimes the rare dhamaal. The desi hero would blare out cheesy bollywood love duets from long forgotten sonic top-ten albums. There would be the ardent FM fan tuning in to his favourite morning show. Every once in a while, the chance connoisseur would be found playing Lata and Rafi or even bloody Surraiya Multanikar (unbelievable really!)

If you get stuck in traffic, the songs would stay with you longer than you expect. Here are some that I couldn't shrug off:

Stuck for 30 minutes on IJP road near Pir wadhai with the driver swearing at everything left, right and center, Shahbaz qalandar looked quite helpless about the traffic mess even in Noor Jehan's melodious voice!



and this was just too good



and the best of the irritating tunes