Day as a vagabond and lessons in gratitude!

I was driving to Mumbai for my meeting. I was looking forward to it quite keenly... On my way to Mumbai from Pune yesterday, I crossed the second toll on the express highway and was comfortably on time to catch up my meeting... all of a sudden... the vehicle had some trouble and as I pulled it aside, I realized it wouldn't work! It was frustrating but there was nothing much that I could do. I immediately called the person I was going to meet and rescheduled it... thankfully he was a known person and cool about it! I soon settled down mentally for a day on the road that was completely unplanned... first I got the vehicle towed to the nearest authorized service center, only to realize after three hours that I had to tow it all the way back to Pune which had a bigger service center. To make matters interesting the car that I had called from Pune to pick me up (as I was going to leave my car at this service station) also arrived.... here is a series of interactions in my day as a vagabond that knocked some sense back in me...

When I was at the service station near Panvel in a dustbowl in middle of nowhere, I realized that though the service station had an airconditioned waiting room, half the people there were not wearing mask (the current pandemic protocol).. so I decided to stand outside in open to be safe... seeing me stand there for quite some time the watchman said, "How long would you stand here?" when I told him my problem, he said, "would you like to sit here, I can always stand for some time!" I thanked him but politely declined.... As we chatted, I realized he stayed on the premises for a salary of Rs 12,000/- with his family away in the hinterland of Uttar Pradesh! 24 hours duty, a shanty to stay and a sum of 12,000/- was what his life was all about and yet he was cheerful... trying to help!

The car that I had called from Pune belonged to the driver who knows me for a decade and when he realized that I was going to sit behind the wheel to get my car towed for over 120 Km, he was concerned... he said to me... why don't you take my car to Pune, go home and rest comfortably. I will get your vehicle towed to the service station and take care of it. I was extremely touched by the gesture... I knew that car was his livelihood and even then he was offering it to me for my comfort.... I cracked some joke about how I would love to sit behind the wheel doing nothing and declined the offer! He drove slowly along with my towed vehicle all the way back so that he can drop me home after handing over my car at service station...

The guy towing my vehicle was a cheerful young chap who offered me some tips on do's and don'ts behind the wheel when your vehicle is being towed. Just before the toll booth on express highway, he stopped on the service road and came towards my car. In a voice full of enthusiasm he asked me "chai piyoge? (would you like to have some tea). Looking at the ramshackle tea stall I declined the magnanimous offer (my friends who know my hypersensitivity about hygiene know exactly how I behave!) As he went inside and ordered for the tea, he picked up a newspaper there... he read some headlines sipping his tea.... as I was getting irritated at the waste of time, I realized that this his routine working day and he is enjoying his tea just like I enjoy mine, browsing my smartphone! When he dropped me all the way to Pune and I paid him agreed upon money and little more, he was joyous... blessed me for that extra money only to leave me little embarrassed that the little tip may be could have been more....

When the car that I had hired dropped me back home from service station, I asked the driver how much should I pay based on his mileage rate. I was anyway going to top it up as he had wasted his full day for me. His answer astonished me. He said, "Just pay me Rs 2000/- for my diesel and the toll payment". I quietly handled him the money I though he should get, he tried to protest saying it is too much.... I just walked away thanking him.....

As I walked home tired, spending my day as a vagabond, I wondered about all these people whom I spent the day with.... All of them had a tough life and perhaps the pandemic made it tougher... even then they had not lost their poise... not lost their ability to reach out and help someone in need.... teaching me the most valuable lesson - when you have a genuine gratitude for life itself, it teaches you to reach out to others who need help and it perhaps is never a function of size of your pocket!