Not every day you come across a man who holds a master's degree in English but drives an auto for a living. However, when Bengaluru's Pataabi Raman, who was an English lecturer in a reputed college in Mumbai returned to Karnataka, he had to drive an auto to make ends meet.
A Bengaluru professional shared the incident on LinkedIn where she was shocked to see a man so fluent in English and humble in mannerisms offered her a ride to the office. A woman named Nikita Iyer wrote in a post on LinkedIn about how she was unable to book a cab in the middle of the highway when an auto driver stopped and asked her if she needed a lift.
"Please come in ma'am, you can pay what you want," the man said in fluent English. On their way, an intrigued Iyer asked the man about his life and penned it on social media. It has become viral. The man told her he is a qualified professional who has worked as a professor before retiring. "He was an English lecturer and has done his M.A and M.Ed!" Iyer wrote in her post.
LinkedIn/Nikita Iyer
LinkedIn/Nikita Iyer
Raman shared he had been driving an auto for the past 14 years but before that, he worked as a lecturer in a college in Powai, Mumbai. He tried getting a job in his hometown in Karnataka, but couldn't because of his caste. Since he worked at a private college, there was no pension and this is why he decided to start driving an auto in Karnataka.
He has a wife, who he addresses as 'girlfriend'. The couple together lives a peaceful life with the money Raman earns. He claims to earn about Rs 700- Rs 1500 per day, which is more than what he would earn as a professor.
"My son helps pay the rent of 12,000/- but beyond that, we are not dependent on our children," Raman told Nikita.
