The Taxi Ride

I had to go to LIC at Fort today morning, to pay my LIC premium which was due for 3 months. I received my documents in mid Nov and my first premium was due for October; but unfortunately my account having insufficient balance at that time, I had to go to the branch and deposit the premium now. 

A night before, I did all the permutation and combination of reaching LIC before 12.30 pm and also enjoying the Mc Muffin at McDonalds (before 11am). I had finally zeroed down on taking a train to VT from Dadar. But the other side of me, the lazy me as I term it, suddenly woke up while I was crossing the lane in the morning. She dint even give time for me to argue and then I just remember me in a brand new Santro taxi heading towards Fort.

To my surprise, the taxi guy asked which way would I prefer to take and I guided him. For another 10 minutes I was busy deciding the song I wanted to listen. My song selection in morning always helps me understand my mood for d day and for quite some time I m happy that I select peppy songs. A secret revealed, when I feel low and lonely there is one devotional song (bhajan) I listen repeatedly.

Coming back to my taxi drive, today being a Saturday, the usually crowded Tulsi Pipe road was wide empty. It seemed my Taxi driver was enjoying the freedom of driving in full speed as i noticed the buildings and shops around passing without me being able to notice it. I crossed the lower parel flyover and had reached Palladium when a truck came beside our cab from under the flyover. I noticed the taxi and the truck driver increased their speed simultaneously and suddenly removed my headset to contemplate what is happening. Both the vehicles wanted to lead the way, both drivers stubborn not to let other go. For a few seconds it seemed both the drivers were racing and then i noticed that the truck was approaching a car ahead. Instead of speeding down, the truck driver tried to enter our lane, the lane in which my taxi was driving. Seeing ths my taxi driver increased the speed and blowing the horn and...zoom we went ahead of the Truck and the other car.

Frankly I should have been screaming on the taxi driver for this fraction of breath taking experience, but rather felt proud of taxi driver, and indeed he noticed the smile on my face as well. The taxi driver did not only risk his but my life as well, and I may seem stupid that I was smiling and not seeing red on the him, but somewhere deep i knew where that smile from. Somewhere within i knew that if I was driving and this incident would have happened, I would have done the same thing what taxi driver did. I would have not let any other vehicle overtake me. Call it rash driving, or craziness or the determination to win in whatever u do. Frankly I felt smug :P