A SHORT SUMMARY OF "THE TAXI DRIVER" BY KARTHAR SINGH DUGGAL

 THE TAXI DRIVER- KARTHAR SINGH DUGGAL

Kartar Singh Duggal was an Indian writer who wrote in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, and English. His works include short stories, novels, dramas and plays.His story The Taxi Driver depicts the dilemma between principles and practicality. The protagonist of the story is a taxi driver named Dittu. His real name was Hardit Singh, and he was born into a well-to-do family in Pakistan. It was after partition that he came to India. His whole life changed after he came to India. He became a taxi driver.

One day, he found a wallet lying on the back seat of the car. It belonged to some passengers, Rather than feeling happy about it, he felt uneasy. He had no idea what to do with it, as it was already late in the evening. He believed that money found like this was always suspect. He felt that rich people were so careless with their belongings. He was sure that if they hadn't been rich, they would have been more careful.

Once, a passenger left an attaché case in his car. After that incident, he always asked the passengers about their whereabouts. That way, if something was forgotten, he could return it. He is a person who believes that he has nothing to do with money that doesn't belong to him. He thinks that his wife contracted leukoderma because she wore someone else's clothes. Thus, he always made sure that he would take someone else's belongings.

While he was in Pakistan, an unforgettable incident happened in his life. One evening, as he was passing through the bazaar on his bicycle, he saw a parcel lying in the middle of the road. He got down and picked it up. It was a heavy package. Dittu was curious to know what was inside. He made sure that no one was watching him and left the place with the parcel. He stopped in a secluded corner and started to open the parcel. The parcel was made up of so many layers of packing paper and nothing else. He understood that it was done by the shopkeepers to test the honesty of the citizens. He felt ashamed and hesitated to go back to the market. He never had to return because partition occurred soon after.

He never forgot about this incident and became very careful with money-related issues. His wife, Banti, wanted to take the wallet and save it for the family. She justified her thoughts by saying that the person lost the money since it was not hard-earned. She complained about the miserable state of their home. She wanted to support her family and take care of their children. She puts her family's needs over morality. But Dittu wanted to be honest about it. That night, he had a dream about an accident. He woke up and was perspiring profusely. He thought he was being tortured for keeping someone else's money. He noticed Banti sleeping in her bed with the wallet beside her. He tried to snatch it. Banti woke up, and both of them started quarrelling. Dittu lost his patience and hit her. He felt ashamed that he hit her. By the end of the story, we can see Banti counting the currency notes and showing them to their son. When the son asked the reason for his father hitting her, she answered that it was normal for a husband to hit his wife. She normalised the abuse she received.

The story tells the dilemma Dittu faces between morality and practicality. On the other hand, Banti is sure that the money should be used for herself and her family. The writer doesn't say what is right and what is wrong but leaves it to the readers to arrive at their own conclusion. The story portrays the life of a family that struggles to survive.