This 74-yr-old Bengaluru auto driver used to be an English lecturer. His story is winning the Internet
India Today
Nikita Iyer, a Bengaluru-based researcher, documented her encounter with an auto driver in a LinkedIn post that has gone viral online.
A woman’s day was made after a heartwarming experience with her auto-driver taught her some valuable lessons about life. Nikita Iyer, a Bengaluru-based researcher, documented her enjoyable encounter in a LinkedIn post that has gone insanely viral online. The auto-driver opened up about his life as a former English lecturer and how he chose his current path. His story is winning hearts online and is just too good to miss out on.
Nikita started with how she met 74-year-old Pataabi Raman. Actually, she was stranded in the middle of the highway while on her way to work. Looking at her, the elderly man stopped and asked her to board in impeccable English. “Please come in, ma’am, you can pay what you want,” he said. Pleasantly surprised by his kind behaviour, Nikita boarded the auto and started talking to Pataabi so as to satiate her curiosity.
Pataabi revealed that he was an English lecturer at a reputed college in Mumbai’s Powai where he worked for 20 years. He didn’t get a teaching job in Karnataka as the only question he was asked was about his caste. “The only question he was asked was, 'What is your caste?' and when he said his name was Mr. Pataabi Raman, they said, 'We will let you know.'" Nikita wrote in her post.
He later moved to Karnataka at 60 and started working as an auto-driver as teachers don’t get paid well there. “Teachers do not get paid well. The maximum you can earn is Rs 10-15,000 and, since it was a private institution, I don't have a pension. By driving a rickshaw I get at least Rs 700-1500 a day, which is enough for me and my girlfriend," Pataabi said, laughing.
Pataabi also explained why he laughed at the “girlfriend” remark. Actually, he called his wife his girlfriend because he always wanted to treat her as an equal. “She is my wife, but I call her my girlfriend because you must always treat them as equal. The minute you say wife, husbands think she's a slave who must serve you, but she is in no way inferior to me. In fact, she is superior to me sometimes. She is 72 and takes care of the house while I work for 9-10 hours a day,” Pataabi added.
See the viral post here:
