Meet Hardev Singh, the man passengers know as the calming cabbie of Epping

“We are human beings and we look after each other,” said the 50-year-old ­father of two, who has gained a fine reputation for passing on words of wisdom during trips across Sydney.

 The Northern District Times tracked down Mr Singh, after a letter to the editor from Nesha O’Neil highlighted the Silver Service driver’s calming ways.

 “I was having an absolutely awful day. I was so upset and stressed I figured it best not to drive,” she said.

 “I let him know I was grumpy and just wanted to play on my smart phone as a distraction,” she said.

 He told her to take a few deep breaths and think of happy things.

 “Realising I needed more than that, he showed me some photos of Kashmir, where he came from.

 “As I looked at the gorgeous countryside, he talked about the easy way of life, all the while reminding me to take deep breaths.

“When I got out of the cab half an hour later, he put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye and told me everything was going to be OK, and to remember the beautiful photos and to breathe.”

Mr Singh dismissed his kind ways as just his “chatty” nature, and being compassionate and caring for other people.

“I’m like that … as a Sikh my religion tells me to be like that.

“I don’t go on about my beliefs but because of my religion, I am the way I am,” he said. “At any Sikh temple throughout the world you get free food, free accommodation, it doesn’t matter what religion you belong to, it doesn’t matter who you are,” he said.

Mr Singh said that he was trying to bring a similar sense of hospitality to his passengers.

“I have been taught this way of life, and am strongly influenced to live this way.”

Have you met Sydney’s kindest cabbie or one just like him?

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Source: The Australian