A casual chat -- There is always learnings


The last week end I was at Mumbai and as I landed , I was informed both Uber and Ola drivers were on strike – The strike did not bother me as the good old  Kaala Peela service was available ( Black and Yellow regular taxi )
Later in the day , as I was leaving back , my cousin booked Uber . I was surprised since I thought the Hail taxis were off the road . But this one showed up and I got to chat with the driver – he looked very smart and as I engaged him on discussions about the strike , it was a meaningful conversation . He said he has been driving all the days of the strike ( the current day of the strike was day five ) . He said strikes are for few people and any issue had to be resolved through discussions and winning negotiations ! He said by striking , Ola nor Uber will go out of business and it is only the drivers who will lose their daily earnings .. He was so happy to serve and not join the strike – He spoke very well and articulated his views clearly – I was surprised by his thoughts and quickly asked a question for which I expected an affirmative answer – he did say he was from Gujarat.

Post that affirmation ,he talked about how the earthquake of 2001  in the Kutch area had wiped off his business , home – he said the damage was so intense that he re located to Mumbai and took up a job – he did extremely well to head Purchasing for his company till 2017 when the company was shut down. The Hail taxi service has kept him employed post that – he has been driving for the last two years – Works 12 hours a day ( he says including travel time , every Mumbaikar works for that period of time and so no fuss around work hours ) , makes his money and said his life was good and challenges were bound to come but we to face them and find new ways to deal with it . As he dropped me , I shook hands and thanked him for the ride and good chat and wished him good luck.. Some things that I picked up as a summary
Courage –  
Being clear about what you want to do
Not to get bogged down – having lost everything ,  but relocating and finding ways to live well.
Adaptability—Loosing the job and finding another to keep going
Working hard and not cribbing about it
Positiveall through
Staying happy
There is so much to get inspired and we can find them all the time around us.. Just that we have to keep looking close by and not look too far away to get inspired!

Comments

Indra said…
Truly inspiring:):)
3:39 AM
Gazal said…
Enjoyed the "chat" Sri. What you said is so true, the ability to lose everything in life and re-build yourself from the ashes, is what makes us a winner.
3:42 AM
Venkys Blog said…
Thanks for sharing Sri. The key take away for me is that there are equal job opportunities in the market, however, need to face with courage.
4:16 AM
Aravind said…
Nice one Sri. Thanks for documenting these instances!
5:18 AM
Laxmi Bitra said…
Yes Sri...these kind of interactions will keep us going in the tough times...and encourages to find new/smart ways to deal with.
6:34 AM
r.v.rajan said…
Good Lessons. Interesting.
4:44 PM
Yogi said…
Very inspiring Sri.
9:17 PM
Anonymous said…
Very nice read. All these points are simple to understand -- yet can take someone a lifetime to master. This guy has done it sooner. Good for him.
10:28 PM
Harish said…
Thanks for sharing, leadership capability is not one just learn in an organisation or book rather its out-there!!..seek and you learn from all aspects of life...
1:15 AM
Unknown said…
Nice read Sri.
3:14 AM
Anonymous said…
Good one Sri. Enjoyed reading it. Definitely there are things to learn.
Vidhya
4:46 AM
shobha arvind said…
Very nice write up . Good experience . Even a short trip could teach us so many lessons
10:36 AM
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