Kindness to Strangers

It was the year 1997/98.

I had lost 200 INR that morning. Thanks to a pickpocketer in the public transport who smartly robbed my wallet. I sat in our Client's office where I was placed for auditing as a part of my internship, looking at the hole in my bag. I cried at the loss of that amount. The value of that amount was high because it was from my stipend of 600 Rs.

The accountant at the client's office, lent me 100 Rs so I could make it home after the workday.

As I came out of the office which was in Jayanagar 3rd block, walked to the BTS Bus stop (The BMTC of now was BTS then), and waited for the bus, I saw people on the road rushing as if they were anticipating some untoward events. I did not know what was going on!!

After about 20 minutes of wait, I realized we might not have the BTS bus that day, unlike every day, as a communal riot was surfacing in the City. I saw the shops closing their shutters. Reaching my home which was in the other part of the town seemed not only doubtful but impossible. I was on the road. My throat dried up. My heart started beating fast. I had never witnessed anything like this in my life.

The road seemed scary that evening. We had no mobile phones then. I waved to the autos and tried to stop the ones that passed by, though the money I had was barely enough to pay the autowala for the travel till home. I just wanted to get into any auto and reach home.

None stopped. As moments passed, I was petrified. Wondered and was frightened about what was in store for me that day !!!

After several desperate attempts, an auto suddenly stopped. I could hear the driver protesting but the two ladies inside the auto insisted that he stopped. They asked me to quickly jump into the auto and I heeded. I had no time to think.

They were headed to some other part of the town. They asked which area my house was in. When I answered, they expressed concern and said they were unsure about how safe it was to travel the long distance. The possibility of movement of autos on the

roads for a long time was also doubtful. The trouble mongers were likely to stop vehicles from plying on the road. They told me to go with them to their home.

It was not the time to doubt their intention. They had saved my life. But I had my relatives in another part of Jayanagar, a few kms away, however, even reaching that short distance was risky as the road was filled with broken glasses from bottles thrown by problem-mongers and hardly any civilians on the road. I told them I will go to my uncle's place instead of home and requested them to drop me near Carmel convent.

The auto-driver resisted but the ladies were firm and insisted that he dropped me where I wanted. Their words clear- "she is alone and it is important she reaches a safe place." The driver reluctantly agreed. They dropped me near Carmel Convent; did not wait for my thank you nor demanded any money and just left.

I walked to my uncle's place which was just a few meters away.

What the hell happened that evening!!!! And what did those women just do !! The ladies did not ask my name, my religion, my language, they did not ask me for money. They were total strangers to me!! They had no business to help me. They were well within their right to ignore me and only care for their own safety. YYYet ................................... they helped me !!!!

Had they not helped me that day, I would have perhaps been killed. I may have had to face misbehavior or be ill-treated by people who use such opportunities to their advantage. I may have perhaps been at the receiving end of someone's or some group's wrath.

As I took those few steps and settled down at Uncle's place, I was overwhelmed with emotions. It took a while for things to sink in!

I came across several samaritans who touched my life; they did not know or show or share what they did. They may not have realized what a significant role they played in my life.

I will share a few -

It was my first day at Hewlett Packard, my first job and payday were a month away. The HR asked us to apply for Tatkal Passport which cost about 2,500 rs at that time. One of my colleagues and my acquaintance then was one such samaritan. Deepa and I had only shaken hands and exchanged pleasantries. She did not know me earlier. I was wondering how to get the tatkal done the same day because I carried a couple of hundreds in my wallet and Tatkal needed about 2k +, she said -"nnooooo problem, take it from me and give it later." I would not have had my passport quickly and made it to Belgium if not for her help. She may not have known how much that gesture meant to me that day. I am sure she does not know to this day until she reads this post.

My school headmistress Sister Mary was another Samaritan who took me by surprise several times. A person seen as a very rough lady had a golden heart which she did not show outside. I was in disbelief when she parted with her salary and gifted amount as a token of appreciation for a competition I won. She never shared it with anyone.

Christopher Sir, my Mathematics Teacher- made me

like mathematics. An able maths lecturer who charged fees for only 2 months and waived off for the rest of the months- He did not know me earlier. I can never pay him the Gurudakshina he deserved. What he taught was priceless. He made trigonometry, calculus so easy for me.

I have come across many samaritans in my life. I have mentioned only a few here. They displayed kindness and empathy in action.

Kindness is contagious. Their kindness touched me. And kindness from strangers stays in the heart even after years, decades as it connects at deeper levels. It taught me a valuable lesson that I promised to carry with me and follow in whatever capacity possible. My SOP is ready when opportunities I connect to present themselves, thanks to the lessons my samaritans gave me.

There could be samaritans in your life too. As much as we like to call ourselves self-made people, there would be many samaritans who helped us along the way. Recognize their warmth when you receive kindness, embrace it, imbibe and practice it in ways possible for you. How much kindness we can show is no measure. Not even relevant. It is about carrying the quality in whatever capacity we can as a trait. Extend it to strangers for it creates ripple effects.

Do you connect with this! Would like to know your experience with such kind hearts.

#kindnessiscontagious #empathy #empathyinaction #kindnesstostrange