by Kamini
Faith in Humanity restored Series: Story 2
in Life Lessons, Oneness
This story goes back some 22 years. It was 1992 and I used to live and study in a city called Ujjain in central India. Ujjain has a rich history and is known as the city of temples. It is one of the seven sacred cities of Hindus and it is one of the four cities that hosts the Kumbha Mela – a quadrennial mass pilgrimage. Millions of people from all around the world come to witness this massive event and take a dip in the holy river Kshipra. 1992 was one such year when Kumbha Mela was being hosted by Ujjain.
Trains, buses and all other mode of transportation were packed by people. People of all religion, faith, color, gender, traveled in the most uncomfortable heat of peak summer, in the month of May, on trains running way behind scheduled time. Anywhere you looked you could see people and only people- as if nothing else existed- you could not see the ground beneath. In railway stations and bus stands it was a common sight to see people sitting on windows of train, some sitting on bus roof on top of buses, 12 people sharing a seat meant for 4. I was some 16-17 yr old then, and could not fathom why people would come visit a city in such unbearable heat and conditions, just for a holy dip in sacred river Kshipra which in supposedly a perennial river, but always appeared totally dry and thirsty, except for a couple of months during the monsoons.
What was more annoying to me was the fact that the hostel I lived in notified all the students to completely vacate our rooms to make space for extra police personnel being brought in by the government especially for the Kumbha Mela. What it meant to me was packing all my stuff, including my cotton mattress, few pots and pans, clothing, heavy books and engineering drawing board and few more miscellaneous items. It also meant lugging all these things to the railway station brimming with several thousands of people while mercury was climbing to 45 deg Celsius. I somehow managed to reach railway station but the very thought of navigating through zillions of people, standing in the never ending queue for a ticket, getting inside the train, trying to find a seat or even a place to stand on both my feet in train and making sure to not lose my belongings amidst all this chaos was nothing short of a herculean task.
There is something nice about being 16-17 yrs old – you don’t get nervous easily and are ready to handle anything; perhaps that is why I even attempted this trip all on my own. With 2 heavy bags stuffed with big fat technical books, one each hanging from both my shoulders, one neatly rolled up cotton mattress- packed with sheets and pillows inside in my right hand and one big suitcase with my clothing, pots and pans etc in my left, here I was waiting for the train to arrive. The train did arrive well past its arrival time and it looked packed already.
Crowds behind me pushed me inside the train (thankfully) and I was even lucky enough to actually find space to keep my luggage! My luck was short-lived when I realized that I was missing my purse. I did not have too much cash in it, but I needed what I had for reaching home in a pre-paid auto-rickshaw (a three wheeler) from railway station. There was no other mode of transportation available from my hometown railway station to my home. I had also lost my college ID and train ticket. Train was so packed that I did not need to worry about ticket conductor coming to check my ticket.
When I realized that I had no money, suddenly I became extremely thirsty and wanted to buy a bottle of water. In a hope that maybe I dropped my purse inside the train, I started searching for it- maybe it was under my bag, maybe it was hiding under the seat, or was it in the other bigger bag? Seeing me searching for something a fellow passenger asked if I had lost something. I told him I had lost my purse with all the money, ticket, ID etc. It is amazing how we open up to people and share all the details, even with a complete stranger, when we are in trouble and somebody simply asks. This gentleman offered me a bottle of water- I was soaked in sweat and he probably sensed that I needed water. I had read several incidents of people getting robbed in trains after consuming drugged water or food offered generously by a co-passenger. My thirst won over my doubt and I drank the water and quenched my thirst and thanked my fellow traveler.
My next big problem was how I was going to reach home with all my luggage- I did not have any money for the pre-paid auto. Will I need to carry everything, cross the overhead pedestrian bridge and walk some 4 kms? My thoughts were running as fast as the train and before I could find any solution to my problem at hand (literally), the train had reached my hometown. I somehow managed to get off the train and was happy to see that the gentleman who offered me water had also alighted. He probably understood what my problem was and offered to carry two of my bags- the heavier ones, across the pedestrian bridge to the auto rickshaw stand. I told him I did not have any money to pay for the auto and he simply said- don’t worry about money I have enough.
When we reached the auto rickshaw stand, he paid for my trip, kept my luggage inside rickshaw and left. Once I sat in rickshaw I realized I did not have his name, address or any other information and there was no way I could return his money. More than that I realized I did not even say a proper “Thank you” to that man. Through this post I want to say a real THANK YOU to not only him but to all good Samaritans who have helped restore my faith in humanity.
by Kamini
Conscious Living Tips & Ideas #4
in Tips & Ideas
Globalites share their one habit or practice to live consciously every day.
Kamini’s daily habit to live consciously:
When I wake up I try to be conscious of all my thoughts – positive, negative or anything in between. Just being aware of them and trying to resolve the negative ones helps me.
by Kamini
Faith in Humanity Restored Series: Story 1
in Oneness
Having lived in this world for several decades and lived in various places, each with its own unique culture, language and traditions, I have quite a few stories to share. Stories that restored my sometimes crumbling faith in humanity, stories that shaped my thinking, stories that I think about when I need a quick whack out of my generally judgmental self. Through these stories I want to thank each and every HERO that helped me restore my faith in humanity. Needless to say these are all true stories.
This is the first in this series and dates back to late 1990s. My parents and I had moved from Nagda (a small industrial town in the state of Madhya Pradesh India) to Ankleshwar (another small industrial town in the state of Gujarat, India). Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are two adjacent states in the western part of India. Although we had an extremely comfortable life in Ankleshwar, we used to miss Nadga – a place where we had lived for 6-7 years, had all our relatives close by, had a great gated community with all modern amenities, a grand club house with Tennis courts, swimming pools, gym, an auditorium and most importantly lots and lots of friends.
We were new to Ankleshwar – its culture, its hot and humid climate, its Gujarati language and it did not help that we did not have too many friends. I developed a slight dislike for this new place and dislike transformed into being judgmental about the people as well. However, one long sleepless night changed my views and my dislike quickly changed to respect and gratitude.
This particular night, I was happily watching a movie on the TV half asleep and half awake with my mother. We were waiting for my father who had gone on a business trip to a place nearly 500 km away. He was supposed to arrive by the late night train around 1:30 am. I heard the doorbell and opened the door sleepily. My mother asked him if he had had his dinner to which, to our surprise, he replied “no”. Being diabetic, we knew that he should not remain hungry. Mother served him some vegetables and rice, which he tried to eat, but then suddenly he could no longer chew, and his jaws were aching. He had trouble swallowing the food. We realized that he was unable to speak and we could clearly notice that he was in an acute pain that was reflected in his face.
My mother whom I had known to be a very anxious person, impatient and emotional, lost no time and gave him the life saving pill she used to take as a heart patient. She had experienced a mild heart attack long back. She showed great presence of mind and recognized the symptoms and called our family doctor, informing him that it might be a heart attack. While he was on his way, the clock was striking 2:30 am and we immediately called one of my father’s colleagues, as we knew no one else in this new town. He came in quickly and helped us a lot. In the meantime our doctor arrived and after the initial ECG and other tests confirmed that it was indeed a severe heart attack. He also added that though he would be able to give some immediate life saving medications, we had to rush him to a big hospital in a city called Baroda, 300 km away. He asked me to get an injection that was vital to save my father’s life.
My father’s colleague drove me to a pharmacy but it was closed at that hour. We noticed a cell phone number written beneath the name of the store on a huge orange board. A quick call and we got the storeowner’s address. We went to his house, requesting him to open his store and give us the required drug. He was a nice middle-aged man. He came with us and gave us the drug but I was aghast to hear the cost. It was nearly 10 times the money I had. My father’s colleague had also not brought enough money and it was pre credit-card days. Seeing us distressed, the drug storeowner gave me the drug, scribbled down my address. No ID checked, no security deposit, not one slight doubt but simple trust in another fellow human being and for me one important life lesson – trust others. He unhesitatingly permitted me to pay him after everything was alright. I had no words to thank him.
To this day, I feel deep gratitude towards him for not only saving my father’s precious life but also for restoring my faith in humanity. I wish and hope I can pay it forward some day.
