This morning the taxi I was in had a near-miss. The driver received a call on his cell phone, and as he explained to the caller he was away and cannot pick him up the road bent sharply. It was too sharp to take with just one hand at the wheel; and a passing truck on the next lane almost sideswiped us into the divider.

But I wasn’t rattled unduly, cos years of commuting by the Mumbai taxis have sort of inured me to its risks. But the first time was not like that at all.

I still remember the time as I was heading home. At a sharp right turn of the busy artery, it’s always a battle of wits to decide who goes first. The guy coming straight from the opposite side, or the guy wanting to turn right. The absence of streetlights makes the task tougher at night.

That evening my driver’s age, and the consequent poor eyesight I presume, didn’t help much. As he lurched to the right without looking, hoping to swing by before a truck bearing down on him could hit him, sitting in the backseat I knew he had made a grievous error in judgement.

No, the truck didn’t hit his side of the taxi, but the rear portion where the passenger usually sits. It was a Hollywood moment; I could see the truck heading into the vehicle, and hit the backdoor and boot section with a thump despite the poor driver hitting the brakes. The impact sent the taxi careening, with me inside, and I believe the taxi went for two spins before coming to a halt by the divider.

The driver was out in a trice, to argue with the other driver. I was in a daze, my legs felt wobbly, my back felt like it had been ferrying gunny bags through the day. I sat in the taxi for some more time, before I realized it ran on CNG and I didn’t want to go up in flames. At least not before my time.

I clambered out of the vehicle, made my way through the small crowd that had materialized from nowhere, stumbled to the culvert on the other side of the road, and sat there for some time, taking in deep breaths. I retched a few times, before coming to my feet, hailed a taxi and headed home.

And as I walked into the family, I was normal again.