you must be wondering how can 2 cab rides be charged with a Million dollars …. it is the things i learnt from these cab drivers that i feel a million dollar richer….do not count everything with money. (even though this travelogue has been with me for past one year, i am putting it down finally on the blog)

Cab drive No.1 : from hotel to office (time :: 0830 hrs)

i had this hasty and bad breakfast at Marriott, Singapore and head on for the taxi at the hotel entrance. took a lot of time to get the cab but ultimately i got one right in time to reach the office. unaware that this cab driver will be so interesting to talk to. the spark was the Perfume that i was wearing. he just loved the perfume and started asking me about it. i told him that it is Calvin Klein Truth and that is one treasure in my kitty. he started explaining why he likes that perfume and not-so-powerful ness of it and the subtle nature. the next question was really wierd from his side “how do you know about this perfume?”. i had to explain him that i used to design perfume bottles in previous job and i have tested quite many perfumes but never used one. i actually, hated perfumes because of its long-lasting smells and sometimes really powerfule ones. but CK Truth was a subtle one and really liked it so it is the only perfume i possess. then came the topic of perfume bottle design….it was nice to hear from the cab driver regarding bottle designs and how wonderful those are, he believes. i was also astonished that he really admired the designers point of view. Simultaneously, i was thinking that even a cab driver can understand the design, although, subconsciously. the discussion was not supposed to end here so he started telling me that he believes that i work for a niche sector of professional field where creativity has an upper hand, and yet, i match the technicalities to give shape to my dreams. so true…. later on came a little realisation that he wanted to get into the Graphics design in his young age but due to financial issues he could not. had to drive a cab for the living. but soon, the topic changed to architecture, interior design and housewives trouble the architects for the kitchen design. somehow, the housewives have already a design of their kitchen in their mind thus keep on harassing the designer to just realise it. they forget that designers arent just executioners of their design, they are the ones who teach what is best for you (or they are supposed to do that, atleast). the next topic…i dont remember how it jumped, but it jumped to Good design-Bad design and then it came to Ipod. how ipod is a loved design but has absolutely pathetic usability/functionality. we were both on the same page here, discussing the problems with functionality which totally do not match the amazing aesthetics design. there, he nailed it by quoting “to design, is easy but to design that can be loved by someone is too hard, above all,to design something that can be remembered for long long time is really really hard!” i did not have words beyond this apart from saying that his statement was absolutely true and there isnt any second word on that. didnt know how v were at the end of the 30 mintues long journey and almost entering the main entrance of the office building. so the topic shifted back to perfume design and he asked me which perfume bottle i am designing now. had to tell him that i left that company and now i am in a cell-phone manufacturer job. he asked me which phone i preferred and i told about the one i own currently. soon, we were at the doorstep of the office building, had to bid him bye….and i got the remark with a chin-to-chin smile “it was really nice talking to you, you made my day! thank you” …. i felt good.

 

Cab drive No.2 : from office to hotel (time :: 1535 hrs)

left the office a bit early as there wasnt much to do, no strict agendas, was there just to say hi to a few people and look into some urgent tasks, if any. the office is so far from the city center that usually a person has to call these dedicated cab call centres to get a cab. as soon as i came out, there was a cab standing, not on-call, unhired, just waiting for a customer. so, i got this one and started the journey for the hotel. before we could even leave the office complex, the cab driver asked me if i was an Indian and ofcourse, the answer was affirmative. when i looked at the driver’s name, he was an Indian too. in this part of the world (singapore), it is quite easy to bump on to a fellow indian, especially from tamilnadu state. so i reciprocated by asking him if he was a tamilian and he said yes. thus the spark. he asked me how i was in singapore. i told him that i was in Chennai (capital of Tamilnadu) for 2 and half years and knew ‘kunjum kunjum tamil’(literally ‘little little tamil’, his mother tongue). then he told me that he was born in Thanjavur town of Tamilandu and when he was 7 yrs old, his father moved to singapore with the family. my obvious comment on this was ‘you are more singapore than an indian’ and to my surprise he said that he likes india more than singapore and he truly believes that. i was surprised as every non-resident indian i have met has only one thing for india ‘i am not going back to that place, this place is way better than india’. so, my next question ‘why ?’…yes, a simple, ‘why?’. he started explaining me why …. he said that the pace of life in India is quite nice that it gives a person enough time to think about himself but Singapore just takes away more and more personal time. on one hand, where India has that sense of belonging that you fit in the system, you know people around, there are relatives and friends around, singapore has the sense of alieness. you are alone in this place ! this point really struck me because he had his family here in singapore (although all his other relatives are in india), he still feels that there is a sense of alieness. also, that he cannot survive in singapore if he does not go to work everyday as nobody will help each other here, unlike india, where he can still live with less without working everyday, may not be with a good lifestyle but still live satisfactorily. he still keeps visiting his hometown in india and has a bondage with the place. the only thing he feels bad about india is ‘Corruption’….ahh the corruption is really creeping India from inside. he even had a theory of how this corruption started which i have come to believe is quite true. he believes that it is we people of India who have created corruption, bribery and other problems. we wanted our things to be done fast, at a priority service and for that we pay a little extra as tip which ultimately took the shape of bribe. that also gave rise to the levels of corruption in the whole country. next are the politicians who spoilt it all as they are just fighting for the votebank and full of skeletons in their cupboards. they should give chance to the new and young politicians who really want a change in the country and for good. also, that singapore never existed, it was just divided from malaysia in 1960s. but the earliest politicians of this nation had a vision, a dream and they made new policies after getting freed from british rulers. thats what made the whole change. but india, even after the independence, stuck to the british laws which were invalid after the independence or atleast in 60th year of independence. but, somehow the outlook towards India is changing, people are now looking up to india and have big hopes for my country. he told that singaporeans actually looked down on india but now, one of the ministers of singapore was planning the second visit in a year to india just because of our economy and growth and opportunities. i feel proud to be an Indian ! aha, soon the ride was over and i was at the door step of the hotel….i hated to cut short the good discussion but said bye to him, got another remark for the day with a smile ‘thanks for a nice discussion, i feel good and u have a nice day ahead, sir’