Chapter 42

August’ 2003,
Garden City Park, Nassau County, NY.

It’s been few months since Aryan ran the hackney. It was a singular day for him as he was in the state of buying a television for Rekha. Before he left for the store to do the purchasing he had got a line of routine pick up and drop job. A couple of weeks ago Aryan had met with a professor who worked at the local state university.

It was a conventional morning in the day for Aryan, waiting for the mob who would take a hire of his cab. A man in his fifties approached Aryan for a ride to his work place. Since the first day of drop, the aged man met with Aryan regularly at the same location and chartered his hackney to his workplace. Like it always had been the case with Aryan, in no time the aged man had become friends with him. Nearly after fifteen consecutive trips Aryan made a proposal to hire his cab on daily basis so that he could have the minimum assured returns from his driving at the end of the day. The aged man agreed up on Aryan’s earnest request and since then he had been driving him.

“Hello Mr. Malcolm, you are late today,” Aryan asked. “Ironically, I woke up late after a long time” he replied.

“Ironic?” Aryan enquired. “Aged man don’t sleep for long,” Malcolm replied.

“Uh-huh! Why don’t you take rest back at home, after all you have been working for almost?” Malcolm intervened, “close to thirty,” “Yeah for apparently thirty years and so you already have your son working”, Aryan said.

“I have worked in an MNC for so long, nearly twenty five years. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher but I couldn’t be. The state of affairs demanded me to pursue a career in an MNC,” he said recollecting from his past, “now that my son looks after the family. I could courageously resign my job to take my loved profession. So, I am not working, I am enjoying what I am doing now and I am happy about it”. Aryan had seen himself in Malcolm for a moment when he heard him say of his feelings over the vocation. He recalled the instances from Dayanand’s guest house where he told Jenny the same words.

“Mr. Waldman, you just put a tape on my lips,” Aryan said. “Never mind young man,” he laughed, “is there something else you wanted to know about?” He asked.

“Not for now,” Aryan said hesitatingly. He paused for a few minutes before he enquired his proceedings at the university, “Mr. Malcolm, yesterday when I was picking you at the university, I have seen students talking to you about the FSAE”,

“Oh yeah, they wanted to build a formula car for a competition. That is FSAE,”

I knew it Mr. Malcolm, all I want is how I can work for that project was the thought running in his mind. How should I break the bar and ask him about it? How do I buy his trust? How do I tell him that I have worked on it and been successful in the leading part of the project? A taxi driver, had been successful in building a chassis? Who would believe? I have no evidence to show him on my capabilities. People would consider me to be a fool If say it in the air. They don’t believe my words, they believe in my appearance and what I do. Aryan remained silent while he was brooding over his notion until Malcolm interrupted his thoughts. Malcolm continued, “In fact I am one of the chief of the board of charge committee for the project. They were talking to me about the endowment facilities and other issues with the fabrication. It seems we reached the entrance. Will talk it over the return journey young man” He said.

“Sure thing,” Aryan said in an utter disappointment. It felt disheartened that he couldn’t bring it in the open on his interests on the project. “See you dear”, Malcolm waldman said and walked into the university while Aryan drove to the store to get home the much fancied commodity.