I
Paid properly, paid on time
A fair monthly base with journey incentives, a bonus for celebration journeys, and a perfect-week bonus. Paid on the day it is due, every time, without exception — and never a rupee of it through a guest's hands.
Not drivers. Not even chauffeurs. Sarathis — the old word for the one trusted with the journey itself. People who understand that opening a door properly is a craft, and that a guest who feels looked after tells three others.
Kisi ke driver mat bano.
Sarathi bano.
Don't be someone's driver. Be a sarathi.
A fair monthly base with journey incentives, a bonus for celebration journeys, and a perfect-week bonus. Paid on the day it is due, every time, without exception — and never a rupee of it through a guest's hands.
We do not ask guests for ratings or tips, and neither will you. You are paid enough that you never need to. Your income does not depend on a star.
A full day of training with the house before your first guest — the six rituals, the umbrella, the difficult situations. Then you are trusted to do the work.
If something goes wrong, we take it on the chin in front of the guest and talk to you privately. A brand that humiliates its people has none.
Not "if there are no bookings". A genuine day off, asked for from your room and answered in writing. On the road: a break of twenty minutes in every three hours at a safe place — a washroom, water, your eyes — written into the guest's own terms, so no guest may refuse it. No more than twelve hours in a day, eight through the night; beyond that a second sarathi, not a stronger coffee.
On a journey with a night away, the house arranges your room and your three meals — a clean room of decent standard near where the guest stays, inside the guest's written figure. You never pay for it, never take it from the guest in cash, and never sleep in the car. And a path: sarathi, senior sarathi, trainer, fleet lead. We promote from within, and we tell you the path on your first day.
A valid commercial driving licence and badge, a clean record, and police verification completed or in process. Three or more years driving in Mumbai.
Calm in traffic. Notices things. Takes pride in a clean car. Never speaks badly of a passenger. This is the part we cannot teach — and the part that matters most.
Tell us your name, the area you serve, your experience, and one line on why you would like to drive with us. We reply to everyone.
Tell us a little about yourself. Nothing here is a test — we are simply trying to understand who you are.
We read every one, and we reply to everyone. If it looks like a fit, we will call you within a few days to talk properly.
Own a premium commercial car as well? It can join the house as a ratha.
Already carry the key? The Sarathi’s Room →
THE STANDARD, AND HOW ONE RISES
Dark suit, white shirt, polished black shoes, hair and beard groomed with care. We honour every article of faith — a turban worn with pride, a beard kept with discipline, are part of the standard and never against it. No fragrance that arrives before you do. No cigarette in the hours before duty. Phone silent and out of sight while a guest is in the car.
What is seen or heard inside stays inside. A sarathi never photographs a guest, never records a journey, never keeps a guest’s number, never arranges a ride outside the house, and never handles money — every rupee passes through Unlyra. You are signed to this before your first duty, and it is the one page we ask you to read twice.
From time to time, unannounced, the guest in your back seat is one of our own. He rides the whole journey as any atithi would, and notices everything: the greeting, the door, the water, the silence kept or broken. You will not know which journey it was, and it is never the same person twice. The finest hotels in the world are kept this way, by inspectors nobody recognises.
But be clear what those rides are for. They exist to protect you as much as the guest. The same people who ride also answer for your rest hours, your welfare, and your side of any dispute — a guest’s word is heard here, and so is yours. We measure to reward, not to frighten. There is no camera in our cars, and there never will be.
Sarathi → Senior Sarathi → Sarathi Captain. One road only: journey after journey delivered flawlessly, confirmed over months by those unannounced rides. Each step carries better duties, better pay, and first claim on the finest cars. A Captain also carries a small allowance to make a guest’s moment right on the spot — no permission needed, no call to anyone. That is how the great houses do it, and it is how we will.
An honest miss is coached, privately and with respect — every craftsman has an off day. A pattern is different: two audited journeys below the mark and duties pause for retraining, on full pay. And the line with no second chance: intoxication, harassment, a hand out for money, a guest photographed, or a journey spoken of outside the car. Cross it once and the association ends that day, whatever your seniority.
The vehicle is hired; the sarathi is ours. When a guest remembers Unlyra, they are remembering you — how the door opened, how the road was taken, how little you needed to be asked. There is nothing else. That is why we choose slowly, pay properly, and defend you when you are right.
QUESTIONS A SARATHI ASKS
If you have driven for an app or a fleet, you already know what is wrong with the job. These are the parts we changed.
There are no ratings here. Not five stars, not a thumbs up, not a score that decides your week. You are judged by people who ride with you and know the work — and who tell you what they saw, face to face.
A fixed fee for each duty, agreed before you take it, paid on time — with a night allowance when you drive through the night, and a festival allowance on the days nobody else will work. You will never discover your pay after the fact.
Never. No fare, no toll, no tip, no parking. Every rupee passes through the house. It means no guest can argue with you about money, and no one can accuse you of anything.
You are heard. The same people who ride with you unannounced also answer for your side of any dispute — that is the point of them. A guest’s word is not automatically the last word here.
No. There is no camera in our cars and there never will be. You are ridden with occasionally, unannounced, by one of our own — to see the work, protect you, and decide promotions. We measure to reward, not to frighten.
Sarathi, then Senior Sarathi, then Sarathi Captain — better duties, better pay, first claim on the finest cars, and a Captain’s own allowance to put a guest’s moment right without asking anyone.