Meet Mumtaz, Not Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's Biwi!

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

Next time when motoring on the Golden Quadrilateral near Chitradurga, Karnataka, the chances of catching a glimpse of this capped five feet six inches Dhanbadi near Toll Plazas on Pune or Bangaluru direction is pretty good. Well dressed. Trimmed mustache and dark goggles at times. Stylish, yes. 

Meet Mumtaz Ansari from Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Mid-thirties, father of three kids and a devout Muslim. What is he doing on the roads in Karnataka, 2,000 km away from his hometown? He enables truck driver interaction for clients through one on one meetings. Currently, he is on an assignment for a brand new fuel station on this stretch to create awareness and "nudge" them to avail of Driver Rest Room, clean and right quantity of fuel at the dispensers. 

It is more than a week since the soft-spoken Driver Saathi - that's how he introduces himself to his target group - is on the job. His daily quota: 100 truck drivers. Mumtaz catches them at the highway dhabas (50 km on both sides of the fuel station he is assisting), toll plazas, roadside mechanic shops.

His work schedule is something like this: Wake up around 0500 hours. Ride out in Splendour mobike, a perk from the client. Interaction with drivers at the location of their choice. Tea/snacks with drivers plus chat promoting his client's fuel station. By 1000 hours, he is back at the fuel station for bathing, rest, lunch plus interaction with a few trucks that enter the fuel station. Post lunch, he is out on the road again. The same chore daily. Collating names and mobile numbers of drivers whom he met. Mumtaz means business. Meticulous. Weekend holiday? What's that? asks he! "Do truck drivers have weekends?" he poses rhetorically.

----

There is a sea difference (pun intended!) between designating one as a driver or a pilot. The concept of dignity of labor is in short supply in India. Driver, it is assumed to be a low-level chore. Not at par with the so-called white-collar job. Not even at the same level as the blue-collar factory workers. Astonishingly, a long-haul truck driver makes more money than a factory worker, though not enjoying any formal employer-employee relationship with his motor malik and despite lack of job security. Such a real-life challenge does not worry him much.

READ More .... 

---

He is not the pen-and-paper market surveyor type. He is never in a hurry. His soft nature endears him to truck drivers from the north as he communicates in their lingo. No fake accent. Asks simple questions. Most importantly, he enquires about their parivar welfare. No p-and-p types will attempt UNLESS there is a specific question in the survey form. 

Above all, he has the entire day at his disposal to meet-greet and builds a relationship. Long-term, of course. Long haul truck drivers regularly ply on GQ and, he is bound to meet them again. By which time, those drivers will shout "Mumtaz!". Either they will stop and talk or wave and move. That's the crux of his approach. A successful formula, though he has never laid his hands on Dale Carnegie's classic How To Win Friends and Influence Them!

Nobody asks him what a Hindi-only speaking Jharkandi is doing in the Kannada desam. People go where jobs are available and he needs no passport/visa to move from Jharkhand to Karnataka or anywhere in India. 

He came into my orbit in 2016 when I was scouting for highway warriors across the Indian highways for interaction and emergency assistance to drivers in crisis. Accident, mostly. My Highway Warriors should be young, willing to be out on the field at any point of time - day or night when the situation warrants, and mobile (for movement and communication). 

Dalip Misra, ex-Rivigo, who was my maiden HW from Dhanbad introduced Mumtaz and he fitted my requirement perfectly. Since then we have been working together. He would meet long-haul truck drivers on National Highway 2 (linking Delhi with Kolkota) at dhabas, interview them on various driver challenges on highways. Besides, he would rush to the accident site in a 50 km radius of Dhanbad - mostly on NH2 to assist the victims in any way possible. He would visit hospitals, compensating for the missing family. At times, he would rush to police chowk where drivers are held for causing accidents or death to explore possible assistance. A true highway warrior. 

Subsequently, he moved to Mundra, Gujarat for a similar role and spent more than two years. When the opportunity arose, he learned computers and upskilled, thus adding to his repertoire.  

Within 24 hours after returning home from Gujarat, a new assignment was ready. The devout Prophet follower took the first available train to Bengaluru after Eid. 

Best of luck, Mumtaz!