With the Internet flooded with news about how cab drivers misbehave and are rude to the passengers, especially women, a viral video from Kolkata, West Bengal, comes as a refreshing reminder of basic humanity.
In the viral video, shot through the dashboard camera, a cab driver can be seen engaging in a friendly banter with a drunk woman, who repeatedly asked him, “Can you get me home safe, uncle?”
The calm cab driver told the woman to relax and said, “Don’t worry. I am here. I will take you back home safe.”
“I am very drunk. Don’t tell my mom I am drunk. My mom will kill me,” the woman said, before dialing the phone to her mother.
“Ami rastae maa (I am on my way, mother),” she said, while informing her mother of her current location.
The woman then asks the cab driver to talk to her mother.
The driver assures the mother that the woman is fine and he is bringing her home. (I am bringing her home. I will call you 5 minutes before we reach, okay?)”
The woman interrupts the call and asks the driver: “Uncle, am I drunk?” The driver calmly replied, “Please, please let me talk to your mother.”
He then continued to talk to the mother and told her that there’s traffic on the way, but he’ll bring her some soon.
“Ekhon amra Ultodanga te. time lagbe. rastae traffic ache (Now we are at Ultodanga. It will take time to reach. There is traffic). Apni Nischinte thakun, ami pouche dichchi. (You may not worry, I will bring her home),” the driver said.
After the phone call disconnects, the woman tells the driver that she is trying to be sober. “I am trying to sober up myself. My mom will slap me.”
The driver joked, “She should! You are acting like a spoiled brat.” “I am a spoiled brat,” the woman laughs, and then thanks him for helping her get home safe. “Thank you for helping me out.”
“It is my duty. It is my job. I take money for this,” the driver replied, shortly before dropping her home.
Watch the viral video here:
“This is Kolkata ♥️” the social media who posted the viral video wrote. “A cab driver calmly ensured a drunk woman reached home safely, with dignity untouched,” they added.
However, netizens had a split reaction to the video, with many saying it was the “basic duty” of a cab driver, and the bare minimum should not be glorified. Some social media users hailed the cab driver as the “perfect gentleman”.
“Hats off. What a perfect gentleman,” a user said. “The education and culture of the Driver Bhai are highly impressive and worth remembering,” another added.
