For Hire at 2 AM

First time for Mudita and Sunandini at TGIF on a chilly Friday night, and they were in love with the place. The ambience, the entire feel of the place, plus the warmth of it – they just wanted to run back inside, hoping the party would still be on.

Mudita was visiting her cousin after a very long time; 12 years had passed since they had last met. Sunandini did not even remember the last time. She had been a little pigtailed girl, unsure of herself at that time. Now, both Mudita and Sunandini had grown up, and acquired that confidence that comes with adolescence. Both had "experienced", somewhat, the effects of the teenage years, and lived through them. They had matured over the years, and left those childhood days behind for good.

The night had been filled with loud music, lots of dancing, and a lot of vodka. Both girls were buzzing slightly, and very giggly. Much of it was due to their excitement at the fact that they had enjoyed so much at the party, but if you ask them, they'd be sure to tell you it was the vodka. Mudita was acting tipsy, and she had been doing that even during the party. Sunandini wasn't sure if she was drunk herself, nor was she very sure of Mudita's drunkenness.

"Mudita, calm down!" said Sunandini. "You'll wake someone up from that giggling!"

Sunandini was giggling herself, but she couldn't understand just how loud they were. At 2 AM in the night, even the slightest of sounds seem a lot louder than they are really.

"I'm not being loud, you are!" said Mudita, nudging Sunandini. "I'm just having fun; night time rocks! Woohoo!"

"Mudita, seriously! You have got to calm down!" Sunandini was getting a little worried about her little cousin. "The cops will be after us, Mudita!"

But Mudita didn't care. She was a grown-up now, and there was nothing anyone could stop her from doing. No one could stop her from drinking vodka anytime that she wants; and no one could stop her from kissing cute guys she just met in a party. So what if she was half drunk, or if she couldn't remember his name?

"Harshal! Hah, that's what his name was!" screamed Mudita triumphantly all of a sudden. "His name was Harshal! See, I remember!"

"Alright, Mudita," said Sunandini. The cab they had called for was finally here, and Sunandini was mighty glad for it too. "Here's the cab. Let's get inside now, it's too cold. You'll feel a lot better back at Maasi's place in that warm bed of yours. How does that sound to you, Mudita?"

"Great!" said Mudita. "Can you call Harshal over as well, pwease?"

The cab stopped right in front of them, and the driver got out. It had been a busy night for him; lots of people had somehow chosen this particular Friday night to get drunk. The fact that it was slightly warmer than it had been the past few days seemed a good idea for all the rich folks to party like mad into the wee hours of the night. Still, the business was good tonight, so the cab drivers didn't really mind.

On coming closer to the girls, though, the driver could see that one of the girls was in much better shape than the other. She looked as though she could walk into the cab without assistance, which was good. The night was still cold, and his hands didn't want to leave his pocket.

"Madam, you can manage to climb in?" he asked, just in case.

Sunandini looked the cab driver up and down with an accusatory look, and replied coldly, "Yes, I'm pretty sure I can manage it. Thanks a lot!"

'Boy, he must be at least thirty years elder to me, but he's still trying to hit on me! The audacity of these cab drivers these days, honestly!' Sunandini thought, as she helped a swaying Mudita into the cab.

The cab driver dutifully touched his hat at Sunandini, and said, "Good evening, madam. Myself Jagdish. Where to, madam?"

'Oh, so now you're pretending to be all nice and polished, are you?' thought Sunandini. 'Don't think I can't see right through you!'

"First to Vasant Kunj. We'll drop off my cousin, and then over to Greater Kailash 2," said Sunandini. "And hurry up, please. I don't want to be too late." The little backlit alarm clock in the taxi chimed once; it was 2:30 in the night.

"Yes, madam," said Jagdish, and with another touch to his hat, they were off.

"Sunanidi," said a garbled voice next to Sunandini. Mudita's speech was intensely garbled, and it took Sunandini a little while to realize that Mudita was saying her name. "Sunanidi," Mudita repeated. "Theesh cab drivers, not shafe. This time of night, you hear all shtories. No, not shafe at all!"

"Nonsense, Mudita!" said Sunandini. "Don't worry, we can manage just fine."

They had reached Mudita's house. The cab stopped right in front of her apartment, and Sunandini saw Mudita walk unsteadily up the stairs. "Wait here for a while," said Sunandini to Jagdish. "Wait till she's inside her house."

Mudita groped around with the keys for a while, but got the door open alright. The stairway was lit, and Sunandini could see Mudita's fur coat.

"Bye, Sunanidi," called Mudita from the stairway. "Be careful! Cabs, not shafe… oops!" Mudita had almost tipped over. Without another word, Mudita slammed the door, and the lights were out. Sunandini heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Mudita was safe at home.

She turned her eyes back to Jagdish, and found him looking at her. Maybe she was imagining things, especially after what Mudita said, but she did not like the look in Jagdish's eyes. Was she just drunk and paranoid? She thought about all the stories she had heard about life in Delhi; of what happened to girls who were out alone at night. The vodka quickly evaporated from her system, and she was left clutching her seat thinking what might happen to the two girls.

'He might be a killer. Or a rapist! Or both! Oh, my god! Why didn't I ask one of the boys to come with me? How am I ever going to survive this cab ride?'

"Greater Kailash now, madam?" asked Jagdish, still looking at her from over his shoulder.

Sunandini found that her voice was choked. It took her considerable effort to unclog her throat and mutter, "Yes, please."

She sat petrified on the seat. Every passing second scared her more and more; she thought soon, she would burst with fear or anxiety or whatever the hell it was that was beginning to possess her so. She tried looking outside at the road to relax; it didn't work. She tried opening the window a little bit, let the wind play on her face for a while; the air outside was so cold, she felt worse off than she was before she had tried opening up that window.

"Madam, winter night very cold here in Delhi. Keep window closed, you catch fever otherwise," said Jagdish to Sunandini. She turned to look at Jagdish, and saw that he was smiling and waiting for her to close the window.

'Look at him, leering at me like that! Bloody, good for nothing loafer! I can see it in his eyes; he can easily be a rapist. Sunandini, what have you gotten yourself into?'

She slowly closed the window, and the stuffy cab air attempted to nauseate her again. She forced herself to focus; knowing that passing out in this situation would not be the best thing to do.

"First time in Delhi, Madam?" asked Jagdish. "You have seen the city yet?"

"It's not my first time here," said Sunandini. "I was born and raised in this place. I know Delhi inside out."

For a fraction of a second, Jagdish's eyebrows shot up. "Really, Madam?" he asked. "You know Delhi inside out? Very good. Delhi, beautiful city. So much history, so many kings and queens stay here."

'Great, now he's going back in time. Where are the sane people in this city these days?'

"Today, I go to Chawri Bazaar. Old Delhi side, behind Jama Masjid," said Jagdish. Somehow, he knew this girl sitting in the back seat thought she knew the real city, but she didn't. She couldn't; she lived in another Delhi. The Newer Delhi, as Jagdish used to think of it. So, he continued.

"That side, very old. Old houses, old roads. Cows and buffaloes walking with the men. Crowded place, very old. Beautiful place, many colors. Tasty food too. You go there sometime, I think you like it. Red Fort, very near. You've gone to Red Fort? Very nice place. Beautiful fort; Mughal kings lived there. Delhi is old, very old. You should see. Jama Masjid, Old Fort, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazaar, Shahjanabad. You like history?"

'Aah, this old man's giving me the creeps. I wonder when he's going to shut up! Should I humor him, and answer his questions? No, I shouldn't do that. Maybe he would think I'm interested in his stupid stories. I'd just pretend to be not interested at all; maybe that would get him to shut up.'

Thinking so, Sunandini turned to look at Jagdish, and defiantly said, "No. I hate history."

Jagdish's face fell, and Sunandini was satisfied to see that. 'That shut up the old bugger!' she thought triumphantly. For all she was concerned, she had to keep herself safe. For that, the minimal interaction she had with the driver, the better it would be for her.

They zoomed across the empty Delhi roads in the night. The sight was slightly eerie for Sunandini; where she saw snarling traffic jams every day, now the roads were empty and barren. Not a soul could be seen at this hour on the streets, and a thin layer of fog lay on the city roads. The streetlights shone bright, the rays piercing through the fog. Sunandini could see the fog rolling down the streets, and she felt as though she was flying through the clouds. For a while, she forgot where she was, forgot that it was so late in the night, and that she was in a cab, alone.

"Funny time, the night," said Jagdish. "Funny people at this time, too. Strange people, most of them. Like the gentleman before you, Madam. Funny man. Not bad man, Madam. Just, strange."

Sunandini was still floating in the clouds, and the words of the driver came slowly floating by to her. She was curious, in spite of knowing the potential dangers of asking anything to the driver, but she couldn't resist. She was too curious, so she just went ahead and asked, "Strange, how?"

"This gentleman, who come right before you," continued Jagdish. "He coming from a party. Quite drunk, couldn't recognize anything. Couldn't walk straight. Said wanted to go home, could not remember right address. Said it's in his bedroom; tell me to take him there. His friend, stand outside the car. He tell me address, then his friend walked away. I started to drive, and the gentleman thought I was friend, kept telling me about wife. Then he start talking about his friend's wife. When reached address, told me to come inside. Wife waiting for us, she cook dinner. Took me fifteen minutes to tell him the fare. Then, gentleman started crying, sitting in front of open door. Wife screaming from behind, gentleman still crying. Wife had to pay fare, and I think gentleman had to hear lot of screaming too. Yes, people very strange this time of night."

"That's an interesting story," said Sunandini, a bout of laughter threatening to burst through. "You meet a lot of people like this?"

"Yes," said Jagdish. "Part of life as taxi driver, Madam. Must go out at night, when customer calls. Must be able to drive him to destination."

'Seems like he's got an interesting life, this guy. I wonder what it's like, to be a taxi driver,' thought Sunandini. After hearing the story, she wanted to hear a little more about the life of a taxi driver. So, she thought of asking him a little more about his life.

"What other sorts of people do you meet? I mean, it must be a completely different side of life that you see at night, isn't it?"

"Yes, Madam. Very different people at night. Daytime, no problem. Night time, have to be careful. Some people, not very nice. They come at night."

Sunandini was starting to relax a bit now, even though she didn't see it coming. The night, although a bit too quiet to her liking, was very calm and peaceful. 'It's strange to see Delhi so calm. It's so hard to imagine that just a few hours from now; there would be a hundred cars with a hundred people screaming at each other at this very spot! The driver was right; Delhi really is a beautiful place. I wonder why it took me such a long time to notice that.'

"Delhi is a strange place, isn't it?" Sunandini asked the driver.

"Yes, Madam. Very strange place. So many people come and go in taxi. Some strange stories these people tell, too, Madam. Delhi a city of strangers, yes!" Jagdish said, with a small chuckle, apparently surprised at his own wit. "A city of strangers. All strangers walking around here. Day and night. But when they come into this taxi, Madam, those people not strangers anymore. They feel good inside taxi. I feel good inside taxi, too. Not my first taxi this one, Madam. Driving taxi in Delhi for thirty two years, I've seen Delhi well. No strangers for me, Madam. At least, not while they're inside the taxi."

They took a right turn, under a flyover. The lights were still twinkling, and Sunandini saw that she was almost home.

"What about when the people reach their destinations?" she asked.

"Then, they get lost amongst the strangers again; and my taxi becomes empty. I look for another stranger to make friends with, for a little while again. But, in the end, the city swallows all the strangers back again."

"You make friends with your passengers? How can you make friends so fast?"

Jagdish didn't say anything; he smiled, and took the turn towards Sunandini's house. Jagdish's words were still ringing in her ears, and she was wondering what Jagdish would be telling her future passengers about her. 'Good thing, he didn't get to know that I thought he was a murdering rapist! That would have been some story,' she thought to herself.

The taxi stopped, and she saw they had reached. Jagdish got out of the car and opened the door for Sunandini. She got out of the car, and found that she didn't feel remotely drunk anymore. All the alcohol in her system had evaporated after that cab ride, and she felt much better now that she was standing in front of her house.

"Here's the fare," she said to Jagdish, handing him the money. "I guess that makes us strangers again, no?"

Jagdish smiled, and said, "Yes, Madam. It was a pleasure to have been driving with you. Goodnight, madam."

"Goodnight…" said Sunandini, but she couldn't remember his name. She stopped herself before it became obvious.

Jagdish got into the car again, and the engine throbbed to life. From inside the car, Sunandini could hear a raucous voice singing loudly, "Chalo ik baar phir se, ajnabee ban jaaye hum dono…"

The cab drove away, and the song faded into the night. They were strangers again.

Humming the song quietly to herself, she walked into her house. She closed the door, gently, and the night went all quiet again.

***

This story has been greatly inspired by Jim Jarmusch's Night On Earth. I wanted to acknowledge that film, and the filmmaker, somewhere in the story itself. However, I couldn't do that, because I knew Sunandini or Mudita would never watch that film, and Jagdish would have a lot of language problems if he wanted to see it.

Also, I would be highly obliged if somebody could translate the lines of that song for me. Roughly translated, the line means "let's become strangers again," but somehow that does absolutely no justice to the original line; and my translation skills are horrible. Thanks in anticipation…

***

Update: For a wonderful translation of the last line, take a look at Ice Maiden's comment. It includes a translation of the entire song, from which the two lines were borrowed. Thanks, Ice Maiden.