Humanity still exists!

Posted by genobz on January 27, 2011 · 4 Comments 

It happened over 2 weeks ago but it was good enough to remind me that humanity still exists.

We had moved to Bangalore and were desperately looking for a good apartment to rent. Just when we had lost hope we found a decent one. The first time we visited that place we had taken an auto from our office. So we reached the place, which seemed like a good location, and got down from the auto and walked in to have a look at our apartment. We spent a good 20 minutes dissecting all pros and cons of moving into that house. Finally, we decided to rent it. We were relieved to have finally found a place and eventually left the place after about 30 minutes from the time we had entered the colony. The moment we crossed the road a strange auto-wala walked up to us uttering some nonsense in the local language. Or that is what we thought it was. Then he uttered something which we were able to understand –
‘bag’… ‘Do you have your bag? …’ …
We looked at each other to confirm that each one of us was carrying their bags. All of us were. Except one. My friend’s face became pale having just realized that he did not have possession of his bag. The colour on his face returned a second later when the auto-wala produced the bag from inside the auto.

In a Metropolitan City, this is not a very common incidence, until of course you have met someone as generous as him. This gentleman had returned from a place 4-5 kms away having realized that we had left our baggage inside. That’s what he told us. It is still commendable even if he hadn’t gone that far and was actually in front of the colony for the entire time since it was a peak time for him and he chose to return the baggage over earning big bucks. That moment, Bangalore and its people gained some respect from me.

Well, all is not so well. What happened next was not very flattering. But to keep it true, here it goes.The man demanded 100 bucks for having returned the bag to its rightful owner. Not 25, not 50 but 100. When you have no money in your pocket, even 100 bucks for reward hurts. We handed him a 50 rupees note, thanked him and walked off while he kept complaining about the cheap reward. Honestly, had he not asked for the money or had I possessed a good amount of money, I would have probably paid him 100.

Well whatever, I hope he was not discouraged from this entire incidence and would be generous enough to help someone else in the future.

If you have ever come across something similar, which has restored your faith in humanity, do share it…

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Filed under Featured, Life In India, Opinion · Tagged with Bangalore, Humanity, India, inspiration, Jayanagar