In a cab ride that took place late at night in Delhi, a passenger ended up having an unforgettable experience because he realised that his driver was actually using his mobile to practice English. While the driver was using his phone to talk, the passenger realised that it was technology that opened new avenues of learning for people from all walks of life.
Tushar Jejani, the passenger in question, posted this unique incident on LinkedIn. According to him, the cab ride had taken place at 4:13 am in New Delhi. In the course of the ride, the passenger realised that the driver was speaking in English.
The conversation started with a simple question
As per Jejani's post, he had become uncomfortable at first since he felt that the driver may be sending his information to someone else. This is when he initiated a dialogue when he saw the driver noticing that he was feeling uncomfortable. The driver asked him, "Sir, where are you going?" Jejani replied that he was heading to Bangalore for a family function.
The driver then asked whether it was a work or personal trip. Jejani responded, "Always work," with a smile. The two continued speaking for around 10 minutes, with the driver speaking in English while Jejani replied in Hindi.
He was practising English on ChatGPT
The conversation took a different turn when Jejani asked the driver what he was doing on his phone. The driver explained that he was not talking to anyone. He had been using ChatGPT to practise speaking English. "Nahi bhaiya, phone par nahi. Main English bolne ki practice kar raha tha ChatGPT par," the driver told him. He also explained that he had learned a little English and was practising so that he could improve further.
"Abhi thodi fluent nahi ho pata. Meri beti hue hai. Uske liye seekh raha hoon. Jab badi hogi, usko bhi sikhaunga, (I am not that fluent right now, I have a daughter. When she grows up, I will teach her)" he said. In English, the driver was essentially explaining that he was still not fluent but was working on improving his English, with the hope of eventually teaching what he learnt to his daughter as well.
The moment stayed with the passenger
For Jejani, the conversation became more than just an interesting interaction during a cab ride. Reflecting on the encounter, he wrote that the driver was not simply learning English. He was "quietly trying to build a different starting line for his daughter in life".
The thought particularly stayed with him because of the timing. The encounter happened on an almost empty road at around 5 am, when the driver could have simply been focused on completing his ride and getting through the early morning shift. Instead, he was using the quiet hours to learn something new.
No classroom, just a smartphone and AI
Jejani also reflected on the wider significance of what he had witnessed. He wrote that he did not know which jobs AI would eventually replace, but believed the technology was giving people across different sections of Indian society access to tools that could help them learn.
"No coaching class. No gatekeeper. Only intent and a smartphone with AI," he wrote. The post ended with a simple thought inspired by the encounter: "What a ride. What a reminder. 'Learn, learn, and learn.'"
The story has resonated because it captures a very ordinary use of technology in an unexpectedly meaningful setting. For the cab driver, ChatGPT was not simply another app on his phone. It had become a readily available tool to practise a skill he wanted to improve, even during the quiet hours of his working day.
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