Of Being Driven… and of Drivers, An Ode of Thanks to my Drivers....!!!

?#corporatelife ?#leadership #retirement #perquisites #thankfulness

One of the strappings of corporate life is to have a driver to drive you around… I began my corporate journey in India and was quite fortunate to have a company paid driver, when I was working for a consumer products Co in Delhi, with the first one starting sometime in 1991, and with some intermissions have been fortunate to have one for many years including in Singapore. As I hang up my corporate boots, while all thank their bosses and mentors, here are some remarkable guys who have made my life easier, better, and also provided some entertainment… who I do not want to leave amiss from thanking - My last Co driver Bahari Shamsuddin…whose picture I feature... Sharing is a pen sketch of some of those prominent ones, who have driven me around, and have left some very interesting experiences to relate... and here they are. My sincere thanks to each one of them, wherever they are !

In India : -?

1.????????Sarju Maharaj?my first driver (1991) who would drive my Premier Padmini– was a Bihari bloke who landed in Delhi perhaps to be domestic cook and graduated to becoming a driver… he was very punctual, extremely clean, and would not eat anything outside and would bring his own tiffin, with meals and snacks too.. that would smell very appetising, when he opened the box and ate in the car... and then you entered ! .... All that he permitted himself was to have, is a few cups of Chai (Tea), but his driving was quite a disaster, as he was half-baked and had several near misses, till a knocked an old bicyclist opposite AIIMS..whose life got saved before he got knocked right before the gate of the hospital. Little did I realise that I too was also his very first 'malik saheb' car owning boss !! He was loyal, punctual and obedient. He would have done better as cook. Sitting in the back seat my blood pressure would shoot up often with near missed, and sometimes I would scream at him – and he meekly told me once in Bihari Hindi – “Sir, don’t shout at me, I get so scared that I will wet my own pants !!”.....

2.????????Farook (1993-95) – Hyderabad – drove NE118. –?Was another very interesting fellow who spoke Turkam – a combination of Urdu & Telugu, Hyderabadi in other words, who looked like he was 22-24 but had already fathered three kids. Distinctive of his style, was he will refuse to wear shoes, and stick to his oversized flip flops (what we call Bathroom Chappals only in India). He was a good driver and would hardly utter a few words. Best part is, he endeared himself to my late parents, and they were his best supporters. From day one to the last day, when I left Hyderabad he was a loyal and efficient driver and drove me to the airport to take the flight to Singapore. He knew the labyrinths of Hyderabad, where trying to find a home or office address by the postal address is like searching for a needle in the haystack, but this guy knew it all like the back of his palm. He made a difference to us, and was very fond of our two little boys then who would sometimes sit in the car's driver seat and pretend driving...

?Singapore :

3.????????Parreira – 2008 Camry / Merc:??A bulky guy, who took time to get into and out of the car, and was far more qualified that needed to be for a driver. He was a specialist in handing dangerous air cargoes and was a trainer, and he had some interest in computers and systems. He once volunteered to be the substitute to the IT help desk and all seemed okay till one day, the Finance Manager came out pulling his hair and running round saying his lost his entire data base!??.. He then left to NZ to take up a teaching job.

4.????????RAHIM – 2010 – Merc :?A bit aged, and very tall Malay Singaporean guy, with a sweet smile. He knew Singapore extremely well, he was a like a race car driver but had exceptional control on the car, and a deep love to keep the car spick and span. Great guy but ran into conflicts with my assistant in the office and left with a huff, saying ‘Sabo Sabo’ – which locally meant sabotage, but no one could figure out what misfired and where was the mystery! He was perhaps an overtly sensitive guy... He was dead against Google Maps…?

5.????????CHAN –?Merc / Jaguar?A very disciplined guy, who had in life seen much better times. He was a reluctant driver, but wonderfully skilled with his deft hands skilled in drawing, making paper works for festivals like Deepavali, CNY and Hari Raya, and was the most efficient handy man for the office. He created a handmade tool box too for the office... Boy he had a temper, the only person I know my wife ever being scared of was he, he would scold her if she asked him to drop at any road side kerb, for he will decide where you should get down and not you. He too believed Google Maps is only designed to take you the wrong way.?His past time was grumbling, and grumbling about the road and constructions in Singapore - most entertaining line used to be... "They dig, dig, dig deep until everything one day will go down lah'.. in his period many MRT projects and underground works were on CBD.

6.????????HASAN – Merc : Jaguar?- Here was again this tall Indonesian Singaporean who had difficulty to fit into the driver seat, and would lower the seat to the lowest possible. Superb driver, who knew all places and extremely well behaved. He had well settled kids, given he was near 70 but enjoyed great health. He was so fond of watching soccer at nights that he would take leave to just to watch matches and World Cup… finally he succumbed to the urge to watching soccer all day and night, and decided to give up the job. There was never a need for a Google Map in his world.

7.????????SHAH – Jaguar?: An Indian Singaporean who spoke Tamil and joined us post his retirement from an MNC. He was very fond of his shoes, that would always be as shining as a mirror. But he smiled only once or twice in a year, at best and carried always a severely grumpy face… and his pastime was ‘grumbling’ & 'mumbling' too – which he was a master at. He could find fault with all, and everything!... My speaking to him in Tamil did not help much. He was very fond of the gents toilet, as he would disappear dozen times a day, perhaps just to retreat for some peace. Most often when I called him he would respond mostly from the loo.

8.????????BAHARI?– Jag : A Malay Singaporean, and very fine fellow well beyond his 70’s doing a second innings. Drives well, and has the sweetest disposition of all with a disarming smile of a child, he can get parking right in front of the top 5 Star Hotels, as most doormen are his friends, or otherwise he uses his sweet smile to get ahead a lot. Much loved by all in the office. A caring fellow, but given his age, he is very forgetful, and unless you are awake and alert, midway your realise he is driving ahead to wherever he wants to go than where you want to go… !!! Disaster sometimes, He said he has been driving for well over 50 years and he has such a fondness for cars, he said if he is kept away from one, he feels very depressed at home.... it’s some a man-machine attachment of 50 years. He loves the vehicle and takes great care. Shared are the pictures with him, as he too re-retired, with me on 31st?March as it was his second innings and continues with me to drive me when I need. Show him a Google Map and he would say, ‘Sir what is it ?’

The role Drivers play in your performance excellence cannot be undermined, they are a vital part of the dispensation... they reach you to your meetings on time, most importantly save loads of time on parking, and do your errands to free up your time, and take away much stress... and often provide good avenue to banter ! As much work gets done over phone while driving, as also conversations with colleagues when you drive together…. They could become the most effective intelligence moths, but my guys either never understood much of what I was talk, or not bothered either ...or were simply very loyal, I never had a challenge of office secrets or information leaks through drivers. I am immensely grateful to each one of them for their services and often providing entertainment too in an otherwise boring corporate world.?

Not to ever forget also the PA or Personal Assistant from the old world charm, who make a big difference to how you perform, and the equation between your PA and your Driver is one of the most challenging ones to manage though... Sometime will post my stories of the various PAs I had and also how some of them have reached high positions and still remain in touch....should you be interested.

Do share your thoughts, and your experiences please. Bottomline - Drivers are as important as and an integral part of the corporate world, just as CEOs are ! Let's never forget them and their role in corporate well being and organisational bliss ..Thanks for reading, and do share your comments !