Raju the Rickshaw Driver

I want to tell you about an amazing rickshaw driver that I have had the pleasure of getting to know while I’ve been in Pune, India. His name is Raju and he lives in the same neighborhood that I am staying in this month. His profession is driving rickshaws (which may be the equivalent to a taxi in the States) around the city to locals and foreigners. 

Raju has a very good reputation around Sangam, the place I am staying at this month. I heard so many positive things about this “amazing rickshaw man” long before I even had the pleasure of meeting him. My initial thoughts were, ‘what could be so special about him and why is everyone obsessed with him?” After spending 10 minutes with him however, I knew all the answers to the questions that loomed in my head previously.

The thing that makes Raju so special is that he just has this natural kindness and humbleness about him. You just see joy oozing out of him. He isn’t kind or nice because he expects anything in return; rather it just comes from the bottom of his heart. He has a smile that makes you smile and instantly draws you closer to him. His laugh fills the space around him and is very contagious.

The rickshaw stand that he is based out of is right down the street from where I live. He greets me most mornings at the rickshaw stand while I am trying to convince one of the drivers to take me to work. My day is instantly a million times better if he is around and will drive us to work.

One of my favorite times with Raju was on a day off during the middle of my stay at Sangam. My friends and I decided that we would spend our morning going to the post office, paper factory and out to lunch. When we arrived at the rickshaw stand that morning we were greeted by Raju with a huge smile and a sense of eagerness to see where we were going. He agreed to take us to the post office and knew exactly where it was. Once we got there he insisted on waiting for us while we were inside so he could take us wherever we wanted to go next. Sure enough, he was outside waiting for us after I spent about 30 minutes inside the building trying to figure out how the Indian postal system works.

Our next destination was a paper factory in town. We arrived there and got a really cool tour of the whole facility, in addition to buying some handmade goods. After spending about an hour and a half inside we were surprised to find Raju still eagerly waiting for us outside in the courtyard. On our way to lunch we drove through a very busy part of town. While driving we spotted a car next to us with a very cute puppy in it. My friend and I squealed and got very excited. Raju looked over to see the puppy and got just as excited as I was. The traffic flow soon made it so the car with the puppy was a distance in front of us. Without hesitation, Raju sped up and weaved through traffic until we were directly next to the same car again. At the same moment, all three of us started talking in high pitch voices saying, “Puppy! Puppy!” All eyes were on this adorable puppy and not paying attention to the busy Indian roads. After the car drove away we were just left to continue laughing so hard. I haven’t genuinely laughed that hard in a very long time.

Raju is all around just a rock star. He is kind, humble, funny, smart and eager to help. His goal isn’t just to make money off you, but to show you the authentic and genuine India. His India.