It was sometime around 2006 or 2007 and it was a rainy day. I had forgotten to take my umbrella and was on my way to the bus stop to catch the bus. I was already late for the GNIIT classes that I was attending at NIIT ( a computer coaching centre ) at Statue, Trivandrum. It was raining heavily and I knew that if I get fully drenched, then there was no way I could attend the classes, and hence I had to somehow make up to the bus stop and catch the bus on time, and I knew I was already late.
As these thoughts were running through my mind, I heard the sound of a car approaching me from behind. “Oh boy”, I thought to myself, since the road I was walking was narrow, and was filled with water, I was 100 % sure that the car which was racing towards me will surely splash a whole lot of water on my body. Note that, this is a very common practice in India and pedestrians are often victims of this free bath from car or bus drivers and there is not much you can do about it.
Strangely the car stopped right next to me and the person who was driving asked me where I had to go. I said “Statue”. “Okay, hop in, I can give you a drive”, he told me. I hesitated at first, but then, I hopped into the back seat of the car. He stared at me and told me, “Don’t make me a driver, get into the front seat” While I sat next to him, I looked around and marveled at the posh interiors and fine finish of the car, but did not tell him, anything about it. The air condition was perfect and I could see droplet of rain sliding on the windshield. That moment, everything was so perfect about it.
The person who was driving the car started talking to me. He must be around 40 years of age. But did not show any sign of aging. He wore a shirt and a lungi and seemed to be very much at ease. He told me that he owned a star hotel in the middle of the city and was working on starting another one. During our conversation of 20 minutes, he spoke to me about success and that nothing was impossible. Although I may not remember the exact content of our conversation, it might made me feel a lot confident and a feeling that everything was possible.
As we approached where I had to get down, I was sure I am coming close to the end of a great learning experience. I told him thanks through words and through my eyes, full of gratitude, not just for the drive he gave me in his ultra special car, but also for showing kindness to a young lad who was drenched in rain and for giving me a lifetime’s worth of positive attitude.
This was one of the incident, that had a profound impact on my life