A Bengaluru-based professional incidentally ran into an auto-driver who claimed he used to be an English lecturer at a Mumbai college, NDTV reported.
Nikita Iyer was travelling in the auto-rickshaw when she heard the driver speak flawless English. Surprised, she asked how he achieved such fluency in the language. The question was followed by a 45-minutes conversation between the two. Iyer shared the experience in a LinkedIn post which soon went viral.
Seventy-four-year-old driver Pataabi Raman revealed to Iyer that he had acquired a master's degree in English and Education and used to teach at a Mumbai college. Before she could ask further, he made a prediction and said, “so you're going to ask me why I am driving an auto-rickshaw, right?"
When Iyer agreed, he began to share his life story.
Raman said he had started driving an auto-rickshaw after his retirement.
"Teachers do not get paid well. The maximum you can earn is 10-15,000/- and since it was a private institution, I don't have a pension. By driving a rickshaw, I get at least 700-1500/- a day which is enough for me and my girlfriend," he told Iyer.
Raman made some jokes here and there during the chat.
Iyer concluded her post by praising Raman. She wrote, "Not one complaint about life. Not one regret. So much to learn from these hidden heroes."
The post went viral garnering more than 73,000 likes and 2,400 shares. Many readers called it an “inspirational” story.