A driver always has something interesting to share,having traveled across the length and breath of the country on account of their work.On my trip to Agra from Delhi, I happened to meet one such interesting driver and his travel diary had a plethora of interesting stories, which I am delighted to share them with you all
Road Trip to Pakistan
I never thought an Indian vehicle could drive through Lahore and Karachi and small villages in the middle. But driverji tells us its very much possible, he has driven through Pakistan over 3 times with tourists and has completely enjoyed being in that country.
You need to take your visa from Delhi, and then your car and driver gets a green card, which entitles him to drive through the country. You enter Pakistan via the Attari border near Amristar.The time for such exits is between 10- 11 in the morning. There are 3 customs checks that happen, and then you drive in and reach Lahore, The country side is beautiful. There are similar kind of hotels lik India. Scotters, bikes and cycles are not allowed in Pakistan. It’s a dictorial country, women have the worst leaving conditions. He narrates many instances where women ask people like him and other drivers to take them to Delhi the bijli ka shehar.
He said that the country is pretty much safe, there is no reason too worry about being attacked by anyone, but as every country has good and bad people, if you happen to meet one bad cop or bad person, who happens to harras you, you would consider it as a bad country. He says hiring a innova from a reputed company for 7 days would be enough to cover Pakistan. The damages would be approx 25,000( only travel)
Road Trips
Driverji has been working for over 20 years and has traveled to almost all parts of India, and the neighboring countries, including Nepal, Pakistan and China
Three places you must never visit on a roadtrip( by Driverji)
Kashmir: He said that in Kashmir people are extremely violent. He has had many instances of leaving tourists at the houseboat and when he would return to pick them up, he would be told that they have already gone. Days later, it would be known that the tourist was murdered and his body would be found floating on the water. The house boat owners, or tourists just want to make instant money
Nepal:Nepal is quite a notorious country. The minute they see an Indian number plate on the car, they will break the headlights, damage the car, and if the tourists are inside, would try to steal their goods, or even threaten them or hurt them with weapons
Negro village in Gujarat : Interestingly, I have never heard of this place although I have been to Gir. This is in Sasan Gir, a village full of Negros. Legend has it that the Nawab of Junagarh, brought them as slaves to work for them, another story says that they descended from the earlier times, when the Arab traders brought Abbisynian slaves many many generations ago. However this guys speak gujarati, eat the local food, etc but they look like negros, Africans.
This guys are extremely violent, and because of their poor living conditions can steal anything from you including your clothes
Kokila Van
On the highway , you would pass through an exit for Kokila Van. The driverji smiled and asked me, if I knew what this place was. I smiled replied, is it a village made by Ambani brothers for their mother.
Kokila van is basically a shani vanish place. Basically the story goes that the wife of shani was talking to him, and he didn’t pay attention, so she told him, that whatever you will look at, will get destroyed, that’s why they say ke shani ka graha ho to bhari hota hai.
So if you want to get away from this shani graha, u need to visit the place with your mothers brother on a Saturday, or if u come alone u have to come 7 times. Interesting. Lot of people come here every Friday night
Incentive programs for Drivers by Hotels
Growing up in the cites, we have heard about the various marketing schemes by companies to entice customers to buy their products or even incentive program by companies for their employees, but I had never heard of incentive programs for tourist drivers. Interestingly every hotel ranging from a roadside Dhabba to a five star hotel on the Delhi Agra highway has an incentive program for the driver. They are in various forms
Food commission on Dhabhas- We happened to stop by at a nice Dhabha for lunch. The parathas were scrumptious, and as a gesture to thank my driver for bringing me to this nice place, I insisted he shared the table with me, he was reluctant but i insisted. He had some normal sabji and couple of rotis and I was happy with my one paratha. When the bill came I was shocked to see Rs 300, this was ridiculous, coz even if I went to a udupi restaurant in Mumbai,I would end up paying maximum 150- 200 bucks. I felt cheated, so although I went to the counter and paid the money, I told the owner, that I knew he was cheating me by over charging me. When we sat back in the car, my honest driver returned me some money. I enquired and he said, that he charged you a tourist tariff, and in such cases they give money to the driver, as an incentive to bring tourists to his dhabba. That’s how the stories of this incentive program came out. Whenever drivers stop by at a dhabba, the driver is given free food, or money, and sometimes both. Then he clearly pointed out, the reason he didn’t want to share the table with me, coz anyways his food would have been taken care off. The dhabba owners address the drivers as Ustadji.
Prizes on the number of visits with tourists at the hotel
Some of the more high profile hotels, give the driver free food, regardless of the fact that the travelers dine or not at the hotel. They make an entry of the car no and the driver in their register. So once the car has come 4 times its get a x gift, its come 6 times it gets an x gift. They also distribute free blankets or bags during diwali
Commission on inhouse guests
Most of the good hotels including the Taj, oberoi etc in Agra, give the driver a 300rs allowance on bringing a guest to their hotel, they also give him free food and accommodation
Free accommodation and nominal family accommodation charges for driver
Some of the good hotels like Jaypee palace, if informed earlier, give the driver a room for him and his family at a nominal rate of 200 bucks. He says that the room is as good as the 7000 rupee room we stay in, without the amenities like AC and fridge etc. They also give free food and accommodation for all the drivers who have guests at the hotel.
Anokhi ke Paratha the Indian pizza in Agra
This was the best thing that Driverji introduced me to. Anokhi a small stall, has the best the parathas in the world. He makes them in desi ghee, and they are so well made in texture, better then a thin crust pizza also. Apparently this guy owns all the land in the surrounding, it is located next to ITC in Agra. He has a small stall, but all the drivers from the hotels come to take parcels for their guests. It was the best paratha I have ever eaten, thousands times better than Partha gali in chandini Chowk
This article would be incomplete without thanking Bhuj, from whom I have inherited the wonderful quality of talking to the locals to find out about the local customs and traditions. If it hadn’t been for her, we all would have been
