Call Sign May 2000

THE UNITED WORLD OF CAB DRIVERS? CAN WE HELP OM DUTTA SHARMA		The USA, like Australia and the UK, is the land of opportunity and many immigrants become cab drivers, just as Om Dutta Sharma did. Om Dutta Sharma could not practice law in USA, so after a number of jobs he turned to cab driving and eventually purchased a medallion (licence). His wife, Sharma, had been taking his tips from his shirt pocket while he slept and the money was given back to Om, which he then used as the deposit on the medallion. Many years later, Om had paid off the loan for his medallion and started saving. He wanted to give something back to his homeland, so his savings helped to finance a girl’s school in his home village near New Delhi. Today, 15% of his income pays for teaching staff, a doctor and pharmacy for the pupils. Om Dutta Sharma is a credit to his former homeland and his new country, he is a credit to himself and a fine ambassador for the ranks of professional cab drivers everywhere. Through Taxi-L, we are setting up a fund where cab drivers, world-wide, can contribute and say to that New York cab driver: “You are not alone.” I know there are people in your own country who need help, but these Indian children have no way of asking you and therefore Call Sign has agreed to take donations and send them via Taxi-L to Om Dutta Sharma for the continuing support of the school. This is a world wide cab driver’s project and I thank you most sincerely for reading this and possibly for your support. On behalf of a New York Indian cabdriver and a group of Indian girls whom both you and I have never met, I thank you most sincerely for your help. Best wishes and stay safe out there… David Gawthorn
Some will say that any charity work Call Sign becomes involved with should have its origins in the UK and they may well be right – I am not making a judgement. But please read on and decide whether you feel that the case of Om Dutta Sharma – a New York cab driver that you don’t know from Adam and probably never will – merits at least a write-up in Call Sign. Should you feel that it merits it, you may want to donate a few quid towards a worthy cause that is probably the first time ever that a group of cab drivers world-wide have ever banded together to help a colleague. As the only London taxi magazine that goes out on the Internet, Call Sign is the only mag that could become involved. David Gawthorne, an Australian licensed taxi driver, is leading the request for assistance from Melbourne, Australia. He is a former holder of the State of Victoria Taxi Driver of the Year award. The appeal also involves drivers from the USA, Canada and Europe. David has written this article especially for Call Sign. If you wish to help, please send your cheque to the office and make them out to Call Sign. We will pass them on…	YOU ARE NOT ALONE G'day from Melbourne, Australia - probably best known for the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground where we have trounced you blokes for such a long time at the ancient art of cricket! Melbourne also hosted the Olympic Games in 1956 and I still remember going there for my eleventh birthday - five years after I arrived here from London. I too am a Londoner by birth and was born within the sound of Bow Bells. I don't need to tell you 'knowledge people' what that means. I started hacking cabs fifteen years ago and within six months had bought my own licence - well, with the banks’ help. Last year I semi-retired, commenced writing and my first book is due out shortly. Part of writing is reading and I subscribe to a daily email newsletter called 'Taxi-L' which originates in Canada. We read daily of the politics of the cab trade, the traumas of death and misery to our fellow cabbies around the world. We also get to share some of the fun of cabbing. Then I read of Mr Om Dutta Sharma who stands as an inspiration to cab drivers world-wide. He was born in India and became a lawyer in his native country. To gain a better life for his family, he emigrated to New York and here the story sounds a bit like others who have left their homelands to escape the political and social problems that beset so many.

THE UNITED WORLD OF CAB DRIVERS? CAN WE HELP OM DUTTA SHARMA