“This is the best thing that happened to me in this city bus in the last few years. And I’m glad I met you today!” – I said.

I was traveling in my city bus, a regular mode of my transport. Already running short of time to reach the office, I constantly cursed myself for hitting the snooze button at 5am.

I always do this. Not a new thing for me. I scuffled with my own conscious and unconscious mind trying to decide amongst them who was the real culprit putting myself in a difficult situation.

“Are you going to heed the fumes of my manager now?” I questioned them both. It was my breath that I could hear for that moment. Pin drop silence. Within minutes, I managed to board a bus to reach my office. The bus was packed but people could stand in it, around 25 king-sized really could. Regular bus traveling has made my eagle eyes (observation) better. I was waiting for someone to get down so that I can get a place to sit.

After a while, the person who was sitting in front of me indicated that he was about to get down. No sooner did I approach my seat, I saw a boy and girl hardly my waist height (FYI I’m 5 ft. 11 inches) running heavily. With perfectly plated pony dancing right and left with her tiny footsteps, big sloe-eyes with a thin line of mascara, and a small area below her right ear smeared with Kohl (Kajal) to ward off the myriad eyes for her beauty. She asked,

“Can I sit with my younger brother it’s his exam today?”  With such sweetness and naivety in plethora, you could hardly say a “No”. I went closer to her, pulled her fluffed cheeks and said,

“You can surely sit here. This place was made for you. And don’t you worry, your brother is going to be the best in the examination today.”

Her itty-bitty and soft fingers could barely hold the rods of the seats. After some serious pushing of her body towards the seat, one hand on the rod, other hand holding her sibling she made it to the window seat.

She made her brother take the window seat and was giving a contented look. I winked at her, showing my permanent toothy grin shrugging my shoulders in excitement. In a while, my destination arrived and as I was about to get out of the bus. The little girl called out,

“Bhaiya (Brother), if any day somebody asks me to give my place as well, I’ll never say NO.”

As I heard this, I was really dazed by the generous words of the girl. I hurried towards her, pulled her cheeks and said,

“Thank you so much little girl. This is the best thing that happened to me in this city bus in the last few years. And I’m glad I met you today!” saying this I scooted over.

All I had was a proud feeling about myself and she was the reason for the smile for the rest of my day. Following the journey through the city bus, I traveled by local trains as well. Mumbai local trains are jam packed – you hardly get some space to breathe. As people proudly say, “It’s the survival of the fittest!” However difficult the journey may be, people here are generous to give some space for a fourth person to be seated in a dedicated 3-seater area of the local trains.

As I was traveling in the local train, I spotted a young boy in the 25s, I waved at him and hinted that he could adjust in my seat. As he got a place to sit, within minutes the other people sitting in front of me also started calling others to be seated. Within minutes this wave spread like wildfire in my compartment. People started sharing their seat making some space for the fourth seat with the passengers who were standing for 15-20 minutes. It seemed like a zephyr of positivity and benevolence spread like wildfire.

In life, everyone succumbs to personal problems, community problems, money, food, standard of living, relationships, career and many more. But amidst these, we forget to think that we are not alone in this fight. If you look around, you can see that the person next to you has lost his mother recently and is still up to work. The boy sitting just in front of you didn’t qualify for the civil services examination even after many trials but he is still helping others because he knows he can. Everyone needs solace and peace for his living. But just keep in mind, with your love and care you can make others happy because you are the fire to annihilate the darkness.

This world is still connected with hearts which needs love and care nothing apart that!

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