Mumbai through the eyes of a tuk tuk driver

by Peony Hirwani (India)

Making a local connection India

Black, green and yellow. They are the blood in the veins of Mumbai city: the 250,000 auto-rickshaws and their drivers thumped together guaranteeing the traveler's trip from one-stop onto the next is brimming with memorable experiences. As soon as I reached a tuk-tuk stand, a dozen of energetic rickshaw drivers started bidding different prices for the ride. That’s when Wasim Furniturewala, an incongruously stylish young man of about 22, came up to me and said, “Sister, I just bought a new tuk-tuk, and I’m pretty sure it won’t let you down.” He pointed his hand towards his rickshaw, which had a classic playlist of Bollywood music playing on loud volume. I was convinced! Wasim brought around his rickshaw, and asked, ‘Sister, where to?’ ‘Well, how about a city tour?” I said. Wasim asked confusingly, “Do you have anything particular in mind?” He had never taken anyone around for a city tour. After explaining, he got the idea that I was looking to explore around and see Mumbai through his eyes. So without any wait, he balanced the windscreen wipers of his tuk-tuk named “Munni”, adjusted his sunglasses, and cited the tour price as 5,000 rupees, which I ended up bargaining to 3,000 rupees. September is the wet season in India, but here in Mumbai, luckily the morning rain had ceased. We strolled down the road, past stalls of locally made goods and tires. Wasim excitedly waved at one of his friends who works at a tire shop. “Sister can I stop here for a minute to show off my new tuk-tuk to my friend?” he asks while giggling. Before we knew, Pankaj’s family was standing in front of Wasim’s tuk-tuk carrying sweets for him. It was indeed a mesmerizing moment to see how people unite together to celebrate each other’s happiness. Soon, Wasim and I drove off into the city. First, we stopped at the Gateway of India which has a similar structure to Arc de Triomphe in Paris followed by a local chaat chaupati (street food stalls) for lunch. “I usually have lunch here because the food is terrific and most importantly, it’s cheap,” said Wasim. Hearing a lot about this Mumbaikars grab and go snack called Vada Pav, I was intrigued to try one out myself. After a satisfying lunch, I asked Wasim to find some riders for his afternoon shift because I was intrigued to meet local Mumbaikars. Within 15 minutes, an old lady ordered a rickshaw on Jugnoo App - a peer to peer ride-sharing app, just like Uber, but made for tuk-tuks. We drove to her house which was about seven minutes away. The passenger's name was Urmila Das, a 53-year-old lady who owned a Punjabi tiffin service called ‘Ghar ka khana’ from her home. After sending out all her tiffin’s to the reliable customers for the afternoon, she was on her way to deliver her final and most special tiffin box of the day, to her son at his grocery shop in Vile Parle. Urmila has had a tough time keeping her family together due to gender bias. After picking up and dropping another passenger near the Dharavi Slums, also known as Asia’s largest slums, around 20 kids started running behind our rickshaw. “They’re only running behind us because they probably haven’t seen a vehicle in this area in long” It looked like the life of vengeance, a bit of a culture shock. A place where people stumbled around open sewers, where homes were just six inches apart from each other, women washing their hair right on the street, and children playing cricket with a metal rod and a sock ball because buying those sports kits for real was unaffordable. We drove off from the slums with a heavy heart. We drove through countless streets of the city that day. I came across so many people from different religious backgrounds, and one thing remained constant throughout the day - the humbleness, and helpful nature. “Mumbai has made me feel more deeply for other people and has put me into perspective the highs and lows in this world,” Wasim said while bidding a goodbye at the end of our tour. And I took his word for it.