VloMo08 : day20 - blue meter cab

in Mumbai they have black and yellow cabs and powder blue cabs. I love the seats and the old steering wheels & gear shift control on the steering wheel, single front bench seat, door handles & windown winders. they remind me of a cross between the old Holden cars (Mum had one whilst growing up - I've seen the photo) and the old Hilman Hunter car Mum had when we were growing up. though it had split seats in the front. these cars have new motors - they're just built in the old shape - ambassador car style as the tourists and locals like them this way.

in other cities the cabs are similar but different colours - eg they're white in delhi, and there's a 'cool cab' variation which means it's got air conditioning, and costs slightly more.

this ride cost Rs50 but I gave him 100 since he didn't try to rip me off like the other driver. the meter is on the outside of the cab but it didn't work. it's probably been broken whilst driving at some stage. I think it'd be safer to put it inside like in the rickshaws.

if I was a writer I think India would the perfect place to come to be inspired for creating stories and characters. whenever I drive past the little stores and street stalls and people walking around I imagine their lives and stories. I wish I could capture it with the camera, though I don't like zooming in on people much and it's impossible to capture the essence properly whilst driving past anyway. plus the roads are so bad, that it's hard to even hold the camera stable. I like reading books by local authors, especially if they talk about street / urban stories. Rohinton Mistry is a great author for these things. the books & stories I've bought recently have been great too but they seem to be more middle class stories. I'd like to hear more from the poorer people to see what they're thinking.

20/11/2008

http://blip.tv/file/1489045