Cab vs Taxi

posted by Woodooz on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 22 comments
Conversation with the Cab driver (CD) who dropped me at the airport from the Hotel
CD : Hey buddy, how are you doin today ?
ME : Am good, and how about you ?
CD : Am doin jus wonderful, thank you very much. Had a good time in Las Vegas?
ME : Of course. This place really rocks.
CD : Believe me, this is the fastest growing economy in the United States.
CD : 7000 people migrate from other states every month.
Me : Really?
CD : $1 billion a month is what they make on just the casinos. You can imagine.

And this went on for a while till the airport. We were talking about the places I saw and could have seen.

CD : You have to come back to Las Vegas and if you do here’s my number.
CD : You have a safe journey back to your country.
ME : Thank you very much.

Conversation with the Taxi driver (TD) who dropped me at home from the airport
TD : * Silence *
ME : * Silence *
TD : * Silence *
ME : * More silence *
TD : * Still Silence*

After some agonizing moments of silence, I opened up. Of course not to recreate my earlier conversation.

ME : Intha signala left (left in this signal)
ME : Inga Right (right here)
ME : Inga U-Turn yedhuthu nirithikonga (Take a U-Turn and stop)
ME : Ainoorukku change irruka? (Do you have change for 500?)

Fascinated I was by the cab drivers who knew everything about the city to be tourist guides themselves. And they always kept the conversation lively. And did not squirm if there was no tip. The concept of a yapping yapping cab driver sure was a new experience. A sea of difference for what I have been used to in Chennai.

Is that why we have oceans between countries ?
Woodooz

22 comments:

  1. ss2:20 AM, June 30, 2005

    Good, I mean the cabbie had good conversational skills. Here in India these people have so many other things on their mind that they hardly care for a conversation. They don't know about the mood of the person entering their cab and I guess they neither care to know. It's strictly business, u pay me I'll drop you and if you don't give the tip only then will I open my mouth or incase I feel we lost the way. But then not all of them are like that. You ask something and they'll go blah blah. I had been in a cab in Delhi and Hyderabad whose drivers were chatterboxes!! We heaved a sigh of relief after we reached our destination. We can ask our tourism department to import some trainers. Good idea na, I always knew I was a genius!! lol. Ahh and hope you enjoyed the work their. How was the conference? I guess you are going to write about it?

    And I noted all the directions in Tamil for future references. Now I can reach your place easily.

    BTW, what does 'Yenna sollareenga?' mean?

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  2. Anonymous4:56 AM, June 30, 2005

    Somu,
    Smyta and Sonal make a point here! Of course cabbies abroad are more polite than in India! This applies not only to cabbies but also people in general. We are less polite! This is a thing which can be tied to lot of factors! Culture, standard of living, state of mind etc. So nothing can be warranted to be right or wrong in this case!

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  3. Woodooz5:50 AM, June 30, 2005

    @Smyta, Sonal, Thiru,

    I totally buy your point. I wrote this not to undermine the Indian system in anyways. Just that I use a rickshaw to commute both ways daily and the striking difference was noticable.

    Another point I conveniently never mentioned was how my attitude towards both these ppl changed too.So the blame is on me too on the way things transpired. My idea was never to comapre US and India. It was just to compare how my experiences were different. And if I were to jot down differences between India and abroad, as Smyta pointed out, I could possibly just go on. And as she said, India really scores high on various factors. And east or west, home is best. Which is why I am so excited about being back home.

    @Sonal,
    Interestingly, most of the conversations I had were on places I need to go to and invariably it resulted in they suggesting night clubs and casinos. It was only later I came to understand that if you get dropped in one of these places by a cabbie, you don't get to pay for it. The club or the casino would bear the expense. So, in that sense all their conversations were business minded too.

    And guess what, am gonna stop this US / India thingy. First place, I realise its criminal to compare. And Secondly, I already feel I am sounding like a snob, which I hopefully think am not. I can already hear ppl say " anju naal poitu vanthu rombathaan persuraan da ivan" ( for Sonal's benefit : He has been there for just 5 days and he is talking too much)

    I am gonna talk more about the conference, the little incidents that happened to me and post some really nice pics which would all be ready by tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Woodooz5:51 AM, June 30, 2005

    @Sonal,
    So, when are you dropping in ? Btw, I never mentioned from where the left, right and U-turn need to be taken. So be careful that you do not gatecrash into someone else's party :o))))

    ReplyDelete
  5. Art9:16 AM, June 30, 2005

    somu,
    Dunno much about the west or rather outside India as of now... But will find out pretty soon....

    But i have heard from ppl who have been there... however jazzy and beautiful the outside world looks...Home is where ur heart is :)

    Well waiting for ur posts on all ur other experiences... I am sure 5 days and u'll have more than 50 stories to tell us:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. akshay9:21 AM, June 30, 2005

    actually.. a more accurate comparison woulda been between the indian auto driver and the american cab driver. Both talk as much.. Both expect tips (tho' the percentages vary).. When i was younger, there would always be the odd autodriver who was overtly friendly.. calling me brether! Now however it seems I've graduated to Saar! (with the laptop et all..) Believe me you don't need a talkative auto guy! (Talking = Groaning and mumbling about how you are overpaying him ONLY 25 rupees) I'd say we're better off with the silent ones... As for the chennai taxi guys.. There are so few of them! They just want to retain what little business they have.. rather than chatter and drive 'em away!

    ReplyDelete
  7. akshay9:23 AM, June 30, 2005

    one more thing.... 'Is that why we have oceans between countries?' Dude! the post was very nice... until that came.. That single line : It came, People saw it, It conquered!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ss11:30 AM, June 30, 2005

    @Somu - Definitely before I leave Hyderabad or maybe in near future. If not in Chennai then in Bangalore. Don't worry about me bumping into somebody else (in that case it would be his/her lucky day!) cuz I can always find my way in/out of anything! You know the theory - so far so good :o))

    @Smyta - Thanx for the enlightenment :-)) that's a cute phrase!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Woodooz12:33 PM, June 30, 2005

    @Aarthy,
    Am sure you would very soon. Well the first thing I asked my mom when I came back was to get me delicious idlies for dinner. mmmmm Indian food.

    And yeah have lotsa stories to write about. Am waiting for the photos which is likely to come today. :o)

    So, how is hyd ? And why do you say you are all alone ?

    @Akshay,
    yeah the overpay of Rs 25 is just too much for me to take. I groan over that coz if they were to go strictly by the meter it would just cost me 15 bucks. Well, I can't do anything about it right ?

    And about the ocean thingy, I found that pretty interesting infact ;o)

    @Sonal,
    Ha ha ha ! Am sure it would be his / her lucky day. And when am I gonna get to wake up on a lucky day ?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ram C3:01 PM, June 30, 2005

    back with a bang, after the break of few days...

    good one somu

    ReplyDelete
  11. Woodooz4:41 PM, June 30, 2005

    Thanks a lot Ram. Feels good to be back... and as u say with a big bang !!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amitesh Khandelwal4:50 PM, June 30, 2005

    Hey thanks for 'raining' by :D you got a great blog going here I see. America is funny in some sense. total strangers greet you with utmost smile and total family will be no where in site! hope you had good luck in vegas ;)

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  13. Sangeeta7:15 PM, June 30, 2005

    Cute! Come to Mumbai..take a rickshaw or a cab..and if you are lucky (which u will be 90% of the time) u will get a lowdown on anything from politics, to how ministers misappropriate funds, gangsters..everything under the Mumbai sun..:P I love getting stuck at a traffic jam..that really gets them talking..
    I remember a bus conductor in Pune who advised to apply calamine lotion on my pimples LOL

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  14. Gowri3:43 AM, July 01, 2005

    Strange as it may seem, I have noticed that cabbies like chatting with tourists. I've been to Chennai as a tourist and one auto-driver actually was quite friendly, even showed off his broken Kannada. All this while he was taking me for a ride!(Pun definitely intended!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. PreethZzZ The Original6:13 AM, July 01, 2005

    Yeah cabbies in India compared to overseas are way different. Probably cos of cultural differences. Here in aus they are given training to talk to their passengers if its a one on one experience, they are taught to hopefully make their customers more comfortable. Also of course there are those who are naturally socialites.
    In India I have noticed even the driver for our family car, makes it a point not to talk in any situation unless it is the youngest members (less than 5 or males under teens). This would be due to respect to the "boss" perhaps? Maybe taxi drivers have the same thing. Many categories I guess. Nice post btw!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Tipsy Topsy11:49 AM, July 01, 2005

    You get chatty cabbies here also. just move around India more :)

    as for the unexpected sights, i am intrigued. tell us more :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Woodooz12:03 PM, July 01, 2005

    @khandu,
    You are most welcome and thanks for dropping by. And what you have said is absolutely true.

    @Sangeetha,
    Your comment has now prompted me to post my experience with a chatty auto driver when I was in Pune. Shall post it in just a while !!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Woodooz12:05 PM, July 01, 2005

    @Gowri,
    Yeah I do not object the fact the cab drivers talk. I was just jotting my experiece when I left and when I arrived. They were totally different.

    And how was the ride ? lol !

    @Preethi,
    Wow, thats a cool initiative. Nice that the govt is taking care to give their visitors a pleasant experience.

    And thanks :o)

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  19. Woodooz12:06 PM, July 01, 2005

    @Tipsy,
    Very true. In fact my next post is all about a chatty auto driver. This was more prompted by the comments that I have been seeing and was not originally intended !!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous5:45 PM, July 01, 2005

    I liked the concluding sentence.:)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Woodooz5:57 PM, July 01, 2005

    Woohoo ! Is this Mridula the Mridula Venkat that I know ???? Am soooooo honored to have your first comment on my blog. Now, get your new sim and let me know. It's been a loooooooooong time !!! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous12:55 AM, May 24, 2007

    You guys sound like nuts on this Blog

    ReplyDelete

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