When the Fare Meter Stops: Real-Life Stories
When the Fare Meter Stops A Silent Study of Human Behaviour Opening Life doesn’t always move by formulae. Sometimes, it moves like traffic - unpredictable, impatient, and revealing. That morning, our cab stopped at a busy signal. I was travelling with a Karate teacher. We were heading towards our Sports Day heat events - semi-finals of discipline, effort, and preparation. I didn’t know then that before reaching the playground, life itself would conduct a live experiment on human behaviour. The Incident At the signal, a well-educated lady insisted on entering our cab. Fluent English. Confident presence. Early fifties. From a VIP locality. She addressed the driver politely - “ Papaji ”, not “ uncle ji ”. Politeness sounded refined, intention felt unclear. I intervened gently, “Madam, we are going to Priyadarshini Park, Nepean Sea Road.” For a moment, I forgot my past experiences. I forgot all my lessons. I forgot probability. I became a layman. She opened the front door. The driver ...