The selfless cab driver who returns the valuables some schmo left in his car is an urban archetype that never seems to grow old. It’s the sort of embodiment of working-class dignity that civic and business leaders draw on to signify that for all the hubbub and ambient edginess of city life, everything (and everyone) is ultimately in its right place. And in a context where, as is the case in most large American cities, taxi workers tend to be immigrants, every instance when a cabbie can be celebrated for doing the right thing represents that much more balm with which to assuage not only class but also ethnic anxieties.
This week brought two such cases, spanning the North American continent from sea to shining sea, and the heroes in both cases are desi: Indian taxi driver Vinod Mago from Lynnwood, near Seattle, who returned a customer’s wallet with $5,950 in cash, and Bangladeshi driver Osman Chowdhury (pictured) here in New York, whose customer, a jeweler from Dallas, left a suitcase that was found to contain 31 diamond rings rings.
As you may have read, the Chowdhury story comes with the additional piquant detail that the Dallas lady had tipped him only 30 cents on a $10.70 fare. So in the end her misadventure only ended up costing her $100.30, as she gave Chowdhury a C-note as his reward. (Though he initially refused any reward at all, and it may be that he was only prepared to accept the equivalent of fares he lost while dealing with the situation, which of course would make her a bit less of a tightwad and him even more of a saint.)
Here’s a snapshot of Chowdhury’s life according to a BBC report:
Back home in Bangladesh he used to work as a contractor. He is still unmarried, but lost his parents recently and has to provide for his family which includes many sisters.
He does not even own a cab, but rents it for 12 hour shifts.
The job is so stressful that it has affected his health. He suffers from high blood pressure, and kidney problems.
“But I have always maintained that no matter what the problems we face in life, we should not resort to dishonesty,” he said.
And here’s Vinod Mago’s similar comment, from an AP report:
“If money doesn’t belong to me, I don’t keep it,” Mago said. “I know God is watching everybody, every second.”
Wise statements on the part of both brothers, of course, though I don’t think too many tears would have been in order had the 30-cent tipper somehow lost her diamonds for good; I suppose you can make the karmic argument either way. But I especially liked this comment on a Bangladeshi blog, which relayed another quote from Osman and added a topical barb:
This is what he had to say about the incident: All my life, I tried to be honest, today is no different . Im not going to take someone elses money or property to make me rich. I dont want it that way.
Isnt it interesting that the majority of the elected officials in Bangladesh think exactly the opposite way, and think they can loot public money just because they can. I hope Osman Chowdhury will go back to Bangladesh, and run for a seat in the parliament in the next election. Bangladesh desperately needs people like Osman in the Shangshad and in the PMs cabinet.
To which one commenter offered the obviousreply:
It is quite possibly because he IS an honest man that he chose to drive a cab in NYC rather than enter BD politics.
