Aastha

There is such a thing called Honesty- still alive in India, particularly among rickshaw drivers. People show their integrity when you least expect them to and it leaves you delighted.

I came to Indore this morning and was on my way home in a rickshaw. To begin with the rickshaw wallah did not suggest some outrageous fare. What he was offering seemed reasonable to me, so I hopped in without any haggling. When I left the auto at my barber's shop, I didn't realize that my mobile phone was left behind in the auto. It was not until that I had had my shave that it struck me.

Then began some frantic calling to my number but no one was picking the phone. I was starting to get worried, to put it mildly. But at least the fellow had not switched off the phone. My barber and I, both were calling and after sometime he answered the phone.

To my pleasant surprise, he was talking of coming to the place where he had dropped me and return the phone which he had found hidden in the space just below the seat. The fellow sounded very earnest and he asked me to have faith. Of course, at that point, it was the only thing I had.

We decided to meet at my barber's place after an hour or so and when I reached there, I was late. He had arrived before and was waiting for me. We had some heavy talk on value stuff and I thanked him profusely. I will remember that man and his philosophy for a very long time.

In the end, it does not matter how much money you have made, but are you able to face yourselves in the mirror is what counts. My mobile phone wouldn’t have been enough for that man for the rest of his life and he returned it as a matter of principle- "Sabhi rickshaw wale ek jaise nahi hote" was what he kept saying. He along with his few colleagues even had a network, so that if someone came looking for their items left behind in their rickshaws they were guided properly.


Happy,
Huzefa