The Taxi Driver In Port Elizabeth, A Cricket Assignment, And A Surprise Connection

A shot from scenic Port Elizabeth | Photo: Kuntal Chakraborty/ABP

Port Elizabeth, known for being the friendliest city in South Africa, is a picturesque place in the southernmost tip of the southern hemisphere. In April 2009, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians were battling it out on the grounds of St. George’s Park, and after covering a match in Johannesburg I had just landed in Port Elizabeth when I received a call from a cricketer friend: “Get to the Garden Court Hotel, Sachin is playing there with his son!”

I came out of the airport as quickly as I possibly could after collecting my luggage. As I stepped out, I found myself shivering as a chilly breeze blew. I found out later that Port Elizabeth is also known as the 'Windy City', and it is always advisable to step out in a jacket or a windcheater. 

Looking for a cab, along with my colleague Soumen Pan, and battling the winds, I was getting more and more anxious about being able to capture the shot of Sachin with his son, when an old man greeted us: “Hi, this is Isaac, how may I help you?” I told him: “Take us to the Waterfront quickly, and then will tell you which hotel to take us to. First, take us to the Waterfront where Garden Court Hotel is located.” 

It was about 7-8 kilometres from the airport, and Isaac stepped on the accelerator to take us to our destination as fast as he possibly could. With the beautiful landscape on either side, we forgot that we had been on the road for about 15 minutes or so, and realised that it shouldn’t take that long to reach our destination. I almost shouted: “Isaac, where are you taking us?”

The infamous Anni Dewani (née Hindocha) murder case involving a cab driver — the Indian-origin woman was murdered on honeymoon in South Africa — was to rock the world a year later, but before that too one would often get to hear about incidents of crime against tourists visiting that country. Though things were not as bad In Port Elizabeth, we were uneasy and quite scared at that point. 

But the old man laughed, and said: “Where I am taking you to, believe me, you will not have any regrets.” Irritated, I sternly replied: “Never mind, just take us to the Waterfront!”

Isaac then asked: “Aren’t you Indian journalists? Here to cover the IPL, am I right?”

I realised the old man must have caught on when Soumen and I were planning on the shots of Sachin that needed to be taken at the Waterfront.

Isaac stopped the car at this point and said: “Let me take you to a cricketer’s house who will be one of South Africa’s top batsmen in the years to come and will also play the IPL.”

We heard him, but at that moment nothing was registering as we only had Sachin on our minds and we were totally focussed on getting to the seaside to capture Sachin and Arjun on camera. I said: “Take us to Waterfront, will talk about it after reaching there!”

Turning the car around, Isaac headed towards the Waterfront, looked back at us and said: “I wouldn’t have charged you extra, you know. You could have gone.”

Sachin was still practising with his son Arjun on the beach when we reached the Garden Court Hotel. After taking some exclusive shots of the father-son duo's practice session, I thought I had had a very fruitful day, and headed back to the waiting cab.

I told Isaac then: “Now, can you please take us to a hotel nearby?” Isaac looked at us ruefully and said: “You will always be able to take shots like this. You could have, however, taken my son’s interview today!”

For the first time that day, despite my tiredness, I was really feeling bad for the old chap. I asked him: “What is your son’s name and where does he play?”

That was the first time I was hearing of Alviro Petersen, who was then vying for a place in the South African cricket team. I decided to interview Petersen the next morning, first to make Isaac happy but more importantly, no other reporter would have the chance to do such an exclusive interview!

Early next morning, much before the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians' practice session started, we were in Isaac’s house interviewing his son. 

10 Months Later...

In February 2010, during a Test match in the Eden Gardens when India were facing South Africa, I was stumped to see the very same Alviro Petersen who I had the privilege to interview in his own house.

It was at the Eden Gardens that young Petersen was going to hit his debut century.

Watching him from the clubhouse, I couldn’t help but remember the taxi driver in Port Elizabeth. I immediately called Isaac, who was still driving a cab for a living. He remembered me. I realised he had been driving since the early hours and hadn’t had a chance to watch his son's brilliant batting.

I would have loved to see Isaac that day, who must have been one very proud father when he heard over the phone the applause Kolkata gave his son on scoring his first Test century.

(Kuntal Chakraborty is a Senior Special Correspondent with ABP News)

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