The other day I had an experience... A scary one!
I would have preferred to write it on the same day, however, being the lazy one that I am, I gave it a miss...
Finally the words are coming down today!
In the past few months negativity has been seen all over.... Watch a news channel, read a news paper, walk down a street... it all has something horrifying to share
I live in Mumbai... A city which has been famous for being rude and self-conscious in every aspect possible... However, I am sure that everyone who lives here will agree otherwise. We Mumbaikar's know that even though we walk alone everyday, we will always find someone when we need them. Pick any story... the terrorist attack in South Mumbai, the blasts in the railways or 26/07 when the entire city was under water....
So today when pessimism is the word of the hour, month or day... I had an experience that made me realize... Humanity may not be easily available, but it still sticks around somewhere....
As few may know, I have recently changed my job. New job means a tedious (may be not so much) process of filing documents proving that you are as qualified as your CV suggests.
Being the lazy person I am, I decided to make the idiotic decision of carrying all my documents. My birth certificate to my degree and everything in between.
After a long day at work (and a tired mind) I started the journey of going home... My document file had served its purpose and was ready to get back into the junk drawer of my cupboard.
I take a cab to Churchgate. People who don't live in Mumbai its one of the super crowded railway stations in Mumbai!
I reach the station, pay my cab driver, buy a bhel (for Rs. 15!!! Where did the Rs. 5 bhel days go....!! ), and get into the train. Just when the leaving horn blows I realize my file is not with me.... SHIT!!
First thought... I must have forgotten it in office...
Second thought... No not in office... it was with me when I took the cab
Third thought... Forgot it in the cab.... OMG!!!!
Fourth thought... I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO?????
With some presence of mind (thankfully!!) I unboard the train just as it leaves the platform...
After acting dumbstruck for about 7 mins I go out and try to find the cab driver who had dropped me at the station....
Again, out of bad habits, I didn't remember the face of the driver... Secondly, I didn't know the cab number (how I want to start with the habit of noting these numbers!!!), I actually didn't even remember the model of the car that I took...!
So I run around, peeking to all the cabs that are waiting outside the station... Believe me there were too many (God knows where these cabs disappear when I actually need one!!)
People obviously start noticing a paranoid girl running around the station peeking into every possible cab like she has gone crazy... Which I am sure I looked like!
A few people were sweet enough to ask if everything is alright... Some suggested to call the taxi union to report this. If my luck was with me a genuine driver would submit it there... However, they were very un-supportive when it came to sharing the details of where the union is and what would be its number (some actually didnt even know that a union existed...)
Anyways, then I see a few railway police officials at the tea stall... I decided to seek help... I shared my story with them, and surprisingly they were more than supportive... one of them took over the task of checking all the cabs at the station, the other went and spoke to all stalls at the station to figure if a cab driver who had found a file came to their stall... And the third one.. A lady officer just stood with me to give moral support...
Fifteen minutes later, they both come back... with no results.... They tried to console me by saying that definitely someone will come back with my documents. Then, one of them then noticed that the place where I left the cab was just opposite the cctv camera installed at the station and that he would check it to see if they can find anything.... With ideas and words of encouragement they left me there to wait for the driver...
Finally... another 25 mins later, I get a call from an unknown number. With hope I take the call... It was from a customs officer. He told me that he found my file in the cab he took from near fort.... Thank God!!!
With no bounds to my joy, I asked him where he is (VT Station) and took off immediately...
On my way, I got a call from my previous work place informing me that a man had called them to know my contact details.... He said that he had my document file
Its then that I realized... My file did not have my contact details (dumb of me!).. In fact none of the documents had my contact number either... It did not have my address or any other contact details... All it had was a recommendation letter in an envelope from my previous work place.
Having found no other contact, the man had actually made the effort to go through the entire file (and it was a thick file), to find this letter... called the place and asked for my details from there....
When I met him, I couldn't thank him enough. I told him that he has no idea how much of a favor he had done by returning his file... and in response he told me... He knew that the documents would be really important for me and thus it was his responsibility to hand them over directly. When he walked away I noticed that the man had a train to board... and he had taken a risk of missing the train in his effort of saving me a lot of trouble....
At the end of it all....I did get my file back... What a relief that was... But I realized was that Humanity has no definitions. It can show its face from the least expected places. The man could have ignored the documents altogether, He could have had given it to the taxi driver and got rid of the responsibility but he instead decided to take make the effort to find me and hand it over directly....
I would have preferred to write it on the same day, however, being the lazy one that I am, I gave it a miss...
Finally the words are coming down today!
In the past few months negativity has been seen all over.... Watch a news channel, read a news paper, walk down a street... it all has something horrifying to share
I live in Mumbai... A city which has been famous for being rude and self-conscious in every aspect possible... However, I am sure that everyone who lives here will agree otherwise. We Mumbaikar's know that even though we walk alone everyday, we will always find someone when we need them. Pick any story... the terrorist attack in South Mumbai, the blasts in the railways or 26/07 when the entire city was under water....
So today when pessimism is the word of the hour, month or day... I had an experience that made me realize... Humanity may not be easily available, but it still sticks around somewhere....
As few may know, I have recently changed my job. New job means a tedious (may be not so much) process of filing documents proving that you are as qualified as your CV suggests.
Being the lazy person I am, I decided to make the idiotic decision of carrying all my documents. My birth certificate to my degree and everything in between.
After a long day at work (and a tired mind) I started the journey of going home... My document file had served its purpose and was ready to get back into the junk drawer of my cupboard.
I take a cab to Churchgate. People who don't live in Mumbai its one of the super crowded railway stations in Mumbai!
I reach the station, pay my cab driver, buy a bhel (for Rs. 15!!! Where did the Rs. 5 bhel days go....!! ), and get into the train. Just when the leaving horn blows I realize my file is not with me.... SHIT!!
First thought... I must have forgotten it in office...
Second thought... No not in office... it was with me when I took the cab
Third thought... Forgot it in the cab.... OMG!!!!
Fourth thought... I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO?????
With some presence of mind (thankfully!!) I unboard the train just as it leaves the platform...
After acting dumbstruck for about 7 mins I go out and try to find the cab driver who had dropped me at the station....
Again, out of bad habits, I didn't remember the face of the driver... Secondly, I didn't know the cab number (how I want to start with the habit of noting these numbers!!!), I actually didn't even remember the model of the car that I took...!
So I run around, peeking to all the cabs that are waiting outside the station... Believe me there were too many (God knows where these cabs disappear when I actually need one!!)
People obviously start noticing a paranoid girl running around the station peeking into every possible cab like she has gone crazy... Which I am sure I looked like!
A few people were sweet enough to ask if everything is alright... Some suggested to call the taxi union to report this. If my luck was with me a genuine driver would submit it there... However, they were very un-supportive when it came to sharing the details of where the union is and what would be its number (some actually didnt even know that a union existed...)
Anyways, then I see a few railway police officials at the tea stall... I decided to seek help... I shared my story with them, and surprisingly they were more than supportive... one of them took over the task of checking all the cabs at the station, the other went and spoke to all stalls at the station to figure if a cab driver who had found a file came to their stall... And the third one.. A lady officer just stood with me to give moral support...
Fifteen minutes later, they both come back... with no results.... They tried to console me by saying that definitely someone will come back with my documents. Then, one of them then noticed that the place where I left the cab was just opposite the cctv camera installed at the station and that he would check it to see if they can find anything.... With ideas and words of encouragement they left me there to wait for the driver...
Finally... another 25 mins later, I get a call from an unknown number. With hope I take the call... It was from a customs officer. He told me that he found my file in the cab he took from near fort.... Thank God!!!
With no bounds to my joy, I asked him where he is (VT Station) and took off immediately...
On my way, I got a call from my previous work place informing me that a man had called them to know my contact details.... He said that he had my document file
Its then that I realized... My file did not have my contact details (dumb of me!).. In fact none of the documents had my contact number either... It did not have my address or any other contact details... All it had was a recommendation letter in an envelope from my previous work place.
Having found no other contact, the man had actually made the effort to go through the entire file (and it was a thick file), to find this letter... called the place and asked for my details from there....
When I met him, I couldn't thank him enough. I told him that he has no idea how much of a favor he had done by returning his file... and in response he told me... He knew that the documents would be really important for me and thus it was his responsibility to hand them over directly. When he walked away I noticed that the man had a train to board... and he had taken a risk of missing the train in his effort of saving me a lot of trouble....
At the end of it all....I did get my file back... What a relief that was... But I realized was that Humanity has no definitions. It can show its face from the least expected places. The man could have ignored the documents altogether, He could have had given it to the taxi driver and got rid of the responsibility but he instead decided to take make the effort to find me and hand it over directly....
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