Was it a tough decision or an easy one

Besides being cost effective, the only other reason I prefer Ola share is that it gives opportunity to interact with the unknown co-passengers, including the driver. And if you’ve all the time to have a good sight-scene on your way to work or way back home, you can take another excuse to avail Ola share.

I somehow started taking Ola share on regular basis after my shoulder injury aggravated a month back. The doctors have suggested not to drive till I get out of my pain. Even though there is no guarantee I can reach my workplace in 2 hours for a 14 KM ride from my home, the good part is that I’m not complaining as you can see my first statement states that I prefer Ola share for some reason.

On a Tuesday afternoon, completing the consultation from a sports Doctor, I booked the Ola share from Jayanagar T-Block to Banaswadi; a distance of 12 KM.  As there were no other passengers, I occupied the front seat. Always prefer to sit in the front as it makes easier to talk to the driver in case there is no co-passenger.

As usual, I asked my standard question to the Ola driver in Hindi and the English translation goes like this “How long are you with Ola”? “It’s a month now” was his response. My next question was “what you used to do before joining Ola”? “Worked for a private company” was his cold response. He was able to converse nicely in Hindi, but I could sense some hesitation in his voice.  I decided not to ask any further questions sensing that he is not comfortable in sharing information about him.

While the taxi was moving slowly on a flyover behind a bus, a bike rider was trying to cross the taxi and the bus and there was barely any space in the left side to cross. The driver started talking in Hindi that how insensitive the bike rider was and he might die while crossing. I supported him with his sensible thought and he started becoming easy with me. I asked my next question, “What kind of work you did in the private company”? “I was a General Manager with Reliance Communications” was his response. I got a little shock with his response and started imagining a lot about the possible situations which might have forced him to leave such a high profile job.

Now I started the conversation in English knowing the position he had held in his previous job. The summary of the conversation goes like this…He had a big team under him and was in-charge of the telecom division of Reliance Communication in his area.  Primary responsibility of his team was to provide best support to customers. With so much job uncertainties in his organization, unrealistic expectations from the boss and with no work life balance, he finally decided to leave the job and joined Ola where he will be his own boss, he can decide his work timings and can take off from work as per his own convenience.

“Now I can plan my time, can spend time with family and can lead a stress free life”, that was the summary he wanted to convey to me. And he doesn’t regret leaving such a high profile job as long as he is able to manage his and his family’s expenses and able to lead a peaceful life.

Some more passenger started joining on the way and I stopped my conversation there. But it kept me thinking during the rest of the travel that how true his statement was. I'm sure it would have been a tough decision for him, but after hearing him, I realized that it was not at all a tough one for him. 

Well, the story ends here. The next one will be about an Accenture IT Business Analyst.  

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