This 80-year-old has driven Kolkata’s streets for 50 years, and he’s still not done

Rabindranath Sarkar has been driving taxis through Kolkata’s streets for more than five decades, and at nearly 80 years old, he still isn’t done. His day begins around 6 in the morning and, on longer shifts, doesn’t end until 11 pm — close to 16 hours behind the wheel of a rented taxi.

The story, shared in a video by Kolkata-based content creator Chaitali Bose, has since been widely circulated online. Sarkar rents his taxi daily, meaning he owes the owner a fixed amount whether or not he earns enough from passengers, and a slow day can leave him with almost nothing after covering that cost.

He and his 67-year-old wife live in a tin-roofed house near the railway tracks in Dum Dum. With no children to rely on, every expense depends on what he earns each day, a pressure compounded by both facing health issues — Sarkar has chronic asthma, and his wife has a heart condition that requires ongoing medication.

What has drawn particular attention online is Sarkar’s generosity despite his circumstances: he reportedly tells passengers to pay whatever they think is fair. Bose’s video ends with an appeal for viewers to help the couple, whose leaking tin roof remains an unaffordable repair during monsoon season.