People of Mumbai

I was born and raised in Mumbai. A city that is always busy. A city that never sleeps. A city with crows of people chasing their dreams. A city that always helps. A city that is made special because of its people. I experienced a lot of situations where only because of the helping people I was able to survive. This is one of such stories. It is an embarrassing one yet it shows the the kindness of people of Mumbai.

This incident happened when I was working at a corporate office. With sophisticated corporate offices their comes a strict dress code. Also in corporate offices there are certain styles that we need to follow. One of such styles is wearing trendy and attractive shoes. I was someone who would always be comfortable in ballet flats or a sports shoes. When I started working I had to switch to heeled shoes.

One such day I was wearing kitten heel shoes. They were comfortable and stylish. Throughout the day I walked wearing them in the office. The real test was on the road. That is when they failed the test.

I got off from my office bus. I was walking comfortably and steady on the patchy street. The street was being repaired. There was water everywhere. There was cement everywhere. I was navigating my way through the mess of construction. Placing my feet gingerly so that I would not trip down. Little did I know that this is not going to be helpful.

At one particular spot where there was a lot of water and that spot was slippery. Unknowingly I had placed my foot there. My foot came in contact with the slippery surface and what happened was surely embarrassing. I slipped, tripped, and fell. I fell down not gracefully. I fell first on my knees, then my elbows, later on my face. My clothes were ruined because of the mud. My bag also got soiled. Pain of injury was the part I was least worried about. The pain of embarrassment was worse. The pain of losing the reputation was worse as well. I wish at that moment that nobody who knows me would have seen me in that state. I wanted to hide my face somewhere.

What happened after that changed my entire worldview. I was on a busy street. I was still noticed by many people. Two women came running towards me. They thought that I fell down because of dizziness. They helped me get up. They held my hand and took me out of the mess. There was a restaurant nearby. The owner saw me falling down and he came running outside. He asked the women to take me to his restaurant. He too thought that I fell down because I got dizzy. He made me fresh juice. He insisted that I should drink it to feel better. I was telling everyone around me that I fell down because of the slippery road and not because of dizziness. However they did not listen to me. They made sure that I was feeling better. The women stayed by my side insisting that I should drink the juice. The restaurant owner asked me if he should call a doctor. I said that I am fine. After drinking to juice the women took me to the restroom. With their own handkerchief they cleaned my wounds.

By the time we got out of the restroom a doctor was already there. He asked me about what happened and whether I had hit my head. He asked me several questions to rule out the possibility of a concussion. He had come prepared with first aid kit. He cleaned the wounds and bandaged them. I expressed my gratitude and I asked him how much should I pay him. He did not accept anything from me and he said that the restaurant owner is his friend. He also said that he decided to come and help because the restaurant owner was so worried about me. I could not express my gratitude enough to these women, the doctor, and the restaurant owner. They all wanted to ensure that I get well.

The restaurant owner insisted that he would call an auto rickshaw. I told him that I was fine and able to walk. Only thing that was broken was my pride. He still called an auto rickshaw. Told the driver not to accept any fare from me.

I was surprised to see their concern and hospitality. They were helping a stranger without anything in return. The restaurant owner did not let me pay for the juice, the doctor or even for the auto rickshaw. He said that he is doing only to help me. He is a business owner but he knows humanity. The women who helped me also did not expect anything in return. All of these angels help me selflessly.

Next day I went to the restaurant again. I knew that he would not accept anything from me hence I had placed an order that I was going to take home. He knew what I was doing but was still happy to accept my order. Unfortunately I was not able to locate those two women, the rickshaw driver, and the doctor. I could not express my gratitude enough towards them.

An incident like this definitely restored the faith in humanity. While the social media shows that humanity is dead, you may still find humanity at the very unexpected places. You will find humanity at a corner, at a crowded street, at a small restaurant, anywhere. All I had to do to find humanity was to fall down. Then humanity came running to me.

That's the beauty of our people of Mumbai. The city of film industry is also the city of Hearts of gold. One can only experience it.

"Madam can you lend me some money?" My house help Shanta asked me with a very polite tone.
"How much do you need?" I asked her. It was the month of May. I assumed that she wanted to go to her native place. She wanted to take something with her to be given to the relatives and that is why she wanted some money. Maybe she will ask for 1000 or 2000 rupees. I would pay her advance salary that way.
"I need 20000 rupees", said Shanta in equally polite tone. As if it is a simple favour that she is asking me.
"Shanta is my last name Ambani? It is not. I do not have that kind of money with me. I am not that wealthy that I would immediately have 20000 rupees with me. It is not a small amount. Besides why do you need 20000 all of a sudden?" Of course 20000 was a big amount even for someone who works in the corporate. It was important to know why did she require so much of money.
"Madam I thought you would understand," she was still calm. 20000 was not a joke. It is a huge amount. My monthly groceries and my other expenses do not even amount to 20000 rupees. The way she was asking it as if she is asking for a chocolate.
"I do not understand Shanta. It is a big amount. I don't have it and I won't be able to give you so much," I said in a stern voice.
"How much can you give me?" She was persistent.
"2000 maximum," I replied with a firm tone.
"And when will you pay me the remaining 18000 madam?" The audacity of this woman.
"Do you think I am a bank Shanta? As I said I do not have that much of money. And I am not going to pay you that much of money. I am paying you 2000 as your advance salary so we will adjusted in the upcoming months," I was shocked at how can she even think that asking for 20000 was fair request.
"Madam this is for my family's wellbeing," said Shanta.
" 20000 is completely out of question. Whatever be the reason maximum I can give you is 2000. Either take it or leave it. Besides you haven't even told me why do you need so much of money. Have you started gambling Shanta?", I had to start somewhere.
"No madam it is not that," Shanta told me.
"This conversation is going nowhere. I don't have so much of time to ask you again and again. Come in the evening and take Rs 2000 as your advance salary. That is it." I told her and started working.
Shanta had not left my house yet. She was still standing in the same place holding the same posture. She was neither speaking not moving.
"Madam please pay me just one time," she pleaded this time.
"Shanta you do not want to understand what I have said 10 times earlier. I will give you 2000 rupees as your advance salary not even a single rupee more than that," by this time I was furious. I have already wasted 30 minutes of my precious time on a conversation which was going in circles.
Shanta wiped her eyes and said, "My father had a stroke two days ago. He is right now in the hospital. My brother and sister do not have much of money. I have already sent them 5000 for the treatment. He will need to be in the hospital for at least one more week. I need money for his treatment."
So that was the reason. I empathized with her situation. I had a relative who also got stroke and was paralyzed. Yet the money was still out of question.
I said," in that case I will give you 5000. I cannot help you anything more than that. My budget is tight too".
"Thank you so much madam. This will help us" Shanta smiled a bit.

I gave her 5000 and she left shortly after. Few minutes later my phone rang. It was a neighbour from upstairs. She asked me, "did Shanta take any money from you?"
I said, " yes I give her 5000 for her father's treatment. Why what happened?"
"It's she still there? I wanted to tell her that I have found an NGO who would raise some funds for her." The neighbor said.
"That is amazing. It will definitely help her financial crisis," I said. So finally the problem was sorted.

I hung up the phone and the doorbell rang. Shanta was at the door smiling. She said to me, " madam thank you for your help. Joshi Madam spoke with the NGO and had arranged some funding for me. I came back to return the money." Santa handed over the cash to me.
"No you keep it just in case something else comes up, " I said.
"No Madam they are going to cover everything. Thank you so much for being so generous." She returned the money and left.

This made me realised that how honest she was. She could have kept the money and later would have returned it to me. Or she could have even kept the money and told me that it was spent in the treatment. But she did not do that. That showed the honesty and integrity. She was needy but not greedy.

This was another beautiful angle of the people of Mumbai. Integrity is in their blood. Honesty runs deep. That is something keeps the heartbeat of the city alive.