This is a long post, please bear with me.
I was driving alone in a jungle route, probably at around 9 in the night. I had already driven close to 350 kms and was eager to reach my destination and take some rest, but there still was around 40Kms of driving in front me of. There were a lot of insects in the air that evening and that had created quite a mess on my windshield, beyond what my car's wiper could fix. So I decided to take a short break to manually clean the windshield. I was in an isolated area when I pulled over and hopped out of my car. As I got out of the car, the car's door closed and I immediately realized: I HAD LOCKED MYSELF OUT! With the Autocop mechanism in my car, there is a way to lock ourselves out of the car and I had never fallen prey to it... until now! I quickly assessed the situation: Car's engine wasn't running, but headlight, music system and the light inside were all on, draining out the battery fast. My mobile phone and wallet were inside the car. I was in the middle of a jungle, a few KMs from any village on either side. It was very very dark outside except for the lights from my car. This was an open stretch of road with very less traffic, so the few vehicles that were passing by were going very fast. I waved at every vehicle passing by and for the next 30 minutes none stopped. There was also a real danger of rain now... and when it rains here, it really pours.
Finally a guy on a 2-wheeler stopped. A guy in his mid-30s, probably a local guy. I explained the situation to him and he immediately assured me that he would help me. He did not know how to open a locker car. He took out his mobile phone and made a few phone calls. He then told me that the only "garage" in nearby village was closed, but he knew the house of the mechanic, so he could go and get him. He asked me again: "Do you want me to go and get the mechanic?" I thought the question was moot considering the situation I was in. He quickly rode back in the direction he came in.
Another half an hour passed and no other vehicle stopped. Then, 3 bikes approached me and stopped. There were 5 people in total, including the guy from before. A thought quickly ran in my mind: "Why so many people to open a locked car? Are they planning to rob me? Are they armed?" But I didn't have much choice than go with the flow. One of the new guys, who was the mechanic, had brought a metal scale with him. He quickly got to work and in less than 2 minutes, had taken off the rubber beeding of the front glass and unlocked the car, taking out any confidence I still had in my car's security system. Now that the main task was over, it was time to talk about money.
I asked the mechanic how much money should I pay he wasn't willing to quote a price readily. After a quick discussion with his friends, he asked for Rs. 100. I could not believe my ears! This was 1/5th of what I was expecting him to demand. I happily paid him Rs. 150 and the 4 of them sped away happily on their bikes.
Now the first guy and I were left. I thanked this guy and wondered "What next?". My observation of the people I have interacted with suggests that nobody helps anyone these days unless they have something to gain. This guy had spent his time as well as money (on petrol) to help me. I was sure that this guy would now put up a hefty demand for money now and tried to guess the amount in my mind. 200? 500? even more? He instead told me "Follow me in your car. My village is close by". I followed his bike for a few kilometers and reached his village. The guy turned out to be the owner of a small grocery store in the village. This was probably the biggest grocery store in the vicinity. He forced me to sit for a while, gave me fruits to eat and told me that he would get tea made. I politely refused this and told him that I should be leaving, considering I still have some distance to go and it is quite late in the night now. I then asked him "How can I repay for the help you gave me? Can I pay you some money?" This made him angry to some extent. "Sir, I did not help you for money. Luckily God has given me enough to lead a happy life. You looked like a good person stuck in an unfortunate situation on the road, so I helped you. Please don't even think about repaying it". I was flabbergasted. Not knowing what to do next, I thanked him again and drove away shaking my head.
Such a tame end to such a story filled with suspense? Yes. Later, I wondered about my inability to judge people correctly on that day. Was I too worried about my situation which prevented me from thinking clearly? Have I seen seen too many examples of the selfish face of people that I could not recognize people who are simple and lead a contented life? Probably a bit of both. I guess I have lived far too long in Bangalore!
Update: This is NOT just a story. This incidence really happened exactly as I have described here.
I was driving alone in a jungle route, probably at around 9 in the night. I had already driven close to 350 kms and was eager to reach my destination and take some rest, but there still was around 40Kms of driving in front me of. There were a lot of insects in the air that evening and that had created quite a mess on my windshield, beyond what my car's wiper could fix. So I decided to take a short break to manually clean the windshield. I was in an isolated area when I pulled over and hopped out of my car. As I got out of the car, the car's door closed and I immediately realized: I HAD LOCKED MYSELF OUT! With the Autocop mechanism in my car, there is a way to lock ourselves out of the car and I had never fallen prey to it... until now! I quickly assessed the situation: Car's engine wasn't running, but headlight, music system and the light inside were all on, draining out the battery fast. My mobile phone and wallet were inside the car. I was in the middle of a jungle, a few KMs from any village on either side. It was very very dark outside except for the lights from my car. This was an open stretch of road with very less traffic, so the few vehicles that were passing by were going very fast. I waved at every vehicle passing by and for the next 30 minutes none stopped. There was also a real danger of rain now... and when it rains here, it really pours.
Finally a guy on a 2-wheeler stopped. A guy in his mid-30s, probably a local guy. I explained the situation to him and he immediately assured me that he would help me. He did not know how to open a locker car. He took out his mobile phone and made a few phone calls. He then told me that the only "garage" in nearby village was closed, but he knew the house of the mechanic, so he could go and get him. He asked me again: "Do you want me to go and get the mechanic?" I thought the question was moot considering the situation I was in. He quickly rode back in the direction he came in.
Another half an hour passed and no other vehicle stopped. Then, 3 bikes approached me and stopped. There were 5 people in total, including the guy from before. A thought quickly ran in my mind: "Why so many people to open a locked car? Are they planning to rob me? Are they armed?" But I didn't have much choice than go with the flow. One of the new guys, who was the mechanic, had brought a metal scale with him. He quickly got to work and in less than 2 minutes, had taken off the rubber beeding of the front glass and unlocked the car, taking out any confidence I still had in my car's security system. Now that the main task was over, it was time to talk about money.
I asked the mechanic how much money should I pay he wasn't willing to quote a price readily. After a quick discussion with his friends, he asked for Rs. 100. I could not believe my ears! This was 1/5th of what I was expecting him to demand. I happily paid him Rs. 150 and the 4 of them sped away happily on their bikes.
Now the first guy and I were left. I thanked this guy and wondered "What next?". My observation of the people I have interacted with suggests that nobody helps anyone these days unless they have something to gain. This guy had spent his time as well as money (on petrol) to help me. I was sure that this guy would now put up a hefty demand for money now and tried to guess the amount in my mind. 200? 500? even more? He instead told me "Follow me in your car. My village is close by". I followed his bike for a few kilometers and reached his village. The guy turned out to be the owner of a small grocery store in the village. This was probably the biggest grocery store in the vicinity. He forced me to sit for a while, gave me fruits to eat and told me that he would get tea made. I politely refused this and told him that I should be leaving, considering I still have some distance to go and it is quite late in the night now. I then asked him "How can I repay for the help you gave me? Can I pay you some money?" This made him angry to some extent. "Sir, I did not help you for money. Luckily God has given me enough to lead a happy life. You looked like a good person stuck in an unfortunate situation on the road, so I helped you. Please don't even think about repaying it". I was flabbergasted. Not knowing what to do next, I thanked him again and drove away shaking my head.
Such a tame end to such a story filled with suspense? Yes. Later, I wondered about my inability to judge people correctly on that day. Was I too worried about my situation which prevented me from thinking clearly? Have I seen seen too many examples of the selfish face of people that I could not recognize people who are simple and lead a contented life? Probably a bit of both. I guess I have lived far too long in Bangalore!
Update: This is NOT just a story. This incidence really happened exactly as I have described here.
