An auto driver's lesson

One evening coming home from university, I boarded an auto-rickshaw, and as usual reported my lack of change before hitching the ride. There was nothing unusual about my co-passengers, (yes in Kolkata we have a system of shared auto unlike other metro cities) apart from the lady in my right who seemed to be in a little hurry. She was frantically searching for something in her purse, switching between chains and repeatedly zipping and unzipping them. My attention was soon diverted towards the rainfall outside the vehicle, the moment the sound of the motor’s engine reached my ears.

The auto was halfway, when the lady suddenly demanded the auto to be halted for she’d dropped her purse. The driver complied and she got out searching for her wallet in the middle of the road. No doubt she is anxious. I thought.

We were waiting inside the vehicle with the rain gaining momentum outside. The lady on my right, who went unnoticed hitherto owing to the presence of the other lady and the weather, was growing impatient. She kept checking her watch every now and then. Why don’t we leave her and proceed? She  asked. Both of us stared at her in amazement. How could a person be so insensitive? The driver replied. What if the same thing had happened to you? The lady went silent. Turning her head aside whether it was anger towards the driver or realisation of her insensitiveness, one could not say. I looked at the driver and smiled, in gratitude and in the humane way in which he took his stand. Moments later the she returned to our auto and we rode to our destination. She thanked us for our patience and support.

This was a little incident, but it certainly made a big difference that day. The driver could have followed her and in doing so, he would not lose a thing rather he would save time and pick a different passenger. We would have reached a little earlier. The lady whose purse dropped would have eventually found it and hitched another auto and rode home. No one would have really lost anything. But instead, he decided to wait, and thus was a lady able to learn a lesson, a lady’s faith in a stranger was sustained.

Often in our busy life, we tend to overlook our vicinity, and the little things which we refrain from doing, because we are in a hurry (for if you are not in hurry, you are not doing anything to make you successful), can cause a great difference to others if given a little time. Helping an aged man with his bag while climbing the stairs, replying to the good morning wish the gate keeper of your building greets you with, or even saying thank you to the milkman every morning etc. are the very little things that we can painlessly afford creating a big difference to others. The aged man will get another son, the gate keeper will feel valued and will take pride in his job, the milkman will have a reason to relish amidst his early morning toil.

So do small things and bring a big difference. And about the Return on Investment, well you can see it for yourself…..