Which religion and caste do you belong to?
I’m a Sharma. And for the caste we write Naai (Hindu).
And are you married?
Yes, sir.
Do you have kids?
Yes, I do have kids, sir.
How many?
I have two daughters and a son.
How long have you been living in Delhi?
I’ve been living in Delhi for the past 9-10 years.
Who do you live with? Do you live with someone else or by yourself?
I live with my brother.
So, it’s you and your older brother? Does your family live with you as well?
Yes, they do.
Wife, kids, and everyone else?
Yes, they live there too.
Before you came to Delhi, did you have any friends or family member living here already?
People from my village were here.
How long have you been doing this work?
It’s been around 5-6 years. I’ve been working for Uber for around 2-2.5 years now. And as a private driver I’ve been doing this for the past 6-7 years.
Whatever money you earn with this work, is it enough for you or not?
It’s actually less, I’d say. I get paid very little by them.
Your family lives with you here, but someone else, say your parents, must be living away from you.
Yes, in the village.
So, do you manage to save something and send it to them back home?
Currently I’m unable to do that.
What work would you do before you started this?
I worked for a garment company in Ludhiana. That’s in Punjab.
How do you like [your job]?
You mean the Uber job? It’s pretty okay. It’s not much but it helps me run the house somehow.
While you’re at work, while you’re driving, what do you think about?
I just hope that I might get a good customer.
And in your opinion what would be an interesting job that you’d like to do?
Sir, everything is good in its own way. But if I get a decent job anywhere, it’s fine. If I get into a factory that would be great. Any field is fine with me, one that offers a decent income.
If there is a long wait in a traffic jam, do you get troubled by that?
Yes. That’s quite troublesome, sir. Traffic jams are a big problem, until I reach the location. In case of a traffic jam I get updates on the phone about how long it’ll take to reach the destination. But I don’t have any other option there.
In your opinion, why do so many people come to Delhi?
They must have their own problems. They don’t have money. If they don’t have money then they have no choice but to move here to make money.