Real Life Incident During Travel

HONESTY PAYS
This real-life incident speaks volumes of the fact that the world is still a better place to live, on account of good people. Lest, the world would have become extinct by now. The irony lies in the surge in the crime rate and the various atrocities committed by the human race on itself.

The incident dates back to 15 years from now, in the month of June 1993 when my parents had been to Vizag, the steel city of Andhra Pradesh, to attend the wedding of my paternal uncle’s son. This trip was the last my parents made together, since my dad passed away after a year of the wedding. Hence this trip has fond memories, for an indelible mark left on me, although I never got to travel with them on account of my Post-Graduate exams.

Let me share with you the mindset of my dad who detested accepting anything from any body, be it his own people. But he was always a giver. Coming back to the incident, my parents attended the wedding and came back to Hyderabad, with loads of stuff, of which sweets and clothes dominated the weight of the entire parcel from the wedding venue. My dad had no other option but to accept the gifts from my uncle, since it was his disposition not to hurt anyone with his ‘NO’.

My parents hired a taxi from the railway station and came back home, and to their utter surprise, without the gift bag. It was just luggage in the real sense to my dad, since he accepted it just to please his dear brother, and was bearing the burden of unwanted stuff on his shoulder. My dad was very upset, and I remember the conversation between we two had. He said: “ This serves me right, I took the gifts half-heartedly and now as ill-luck would have it, lost it even before I thanked my brother for his kind gesture”. I told him “Take it easy papa. Don’t worry, the person who would have got it will make merry. Anyways, it is your innate nature to help people. Look at it as an indirect means to extend help. The finder will make good with the sweets and new clothes too”.

After this dialogue between us, we got back to our routine schedule. I remember going to college that day and saw my dad home, upon returning. It was most unlikely to see my dad home at that hour of the day. My mom told me that he was preoccupied with the sorrow of the lost luggage and was feeling miserable of having lost it. It was not for the contents, but for the mere fact that he took it unwillingly and that feeling perpetrated to make it actually happen. I tried to share his sorrow and just hinted to him that we go and have a look at the place where my parents boarded the taxi. Although we knew the effort was a wild goose chase, we thought it was not a bad idea to at least try, and then call it quits. I remember it was in the month of June when the first monsoon showers have just arrived and it started pouring. We two got on to his scooter and headed towards the railway station. Dad was carrying Rs. 500/- in his pocket, of which he spent Rs. 100/- on his petrol on our way to the railway station.

We reached the railway station, thoroughly drenched. My dad started looking for a bearded taxi driver, since his beard was the most distinguishing feature in his countenance. Finally, he could locate the taxi driver. As it was still raining, the taxi driver asked both of us to be seated in his taxi. We both got in and sat in the rear seat, wiping our wet heads with a hanky. The driver sat in the driver’s seat and my dad started narrating the episode when the driver picked them up and dropped them to their destination. The driver was all ears when my dad was describing the looks of the bag. He then asked my dad to bend a little and grope for the bag under the seat. I still cherish the expression of content on my dad’s face, which was synonymous of having won a losing battle. My dad could not believe his eyes, grew so ecstatic and thanked the driver profusely for his noble gesture. He placed his hand inside his pocket and pulled out four hundred rupee notes and gave them to the taxi driver, in appreciation to his honesty. I remember that he also made a mention that it is because of good and honest people like him, there is still goodness on this earth. I too thanked him and wished him good luck. The driver looked happy and cheerful upon handing over the bag to us.

We came home with a sense of victory and I remember the first words my dad said upon reaching home. He told mom, “The Rs.400/- I gifted the taxi driver him does not in any way commensurate with the intrinsic and emotional value of the contents. These were the items presented by my dear brother to share his happiness on his son’s wedding and I have got them back, with the grace of God. The taxi driver could have relished the sweets, took them home and sold the new clothes. I admire the honesty in him, when he found the unattended parcel in the railway station in the morning and kept it untouched till late evening. It is because of such just people that there is still life on earth”. He then called up his brother and narrated the entire incident and thanked him for his gifts.

This incident although did not happen as part of a journey, was a journey towards humanity and the progress of honesty as the biggest virtue of mankind. I now believe that it is not the taxi driver’s beard that stands out to recognize him, but his honesty which sets him apart from the rest of the crowd.

MAY GOD BLESS THE HONEST AND THE JUST
SINCE THEY ARE BUT A FEW
BUT ON WHOSE SHOULDERS, THE ENTIRE BURDEN
OF THE EARTH THRUST