I was now reading an article about currency shortage and the problem of "small change" like one, two or three rupees. And, a small personal anecdote came to my mind.
I was at a Metro Rail station. Since I had forgotten my prepaid smart card at home, I had to purchase a token. At the booking counter, the official asked me if I had a change of Rs 2.
But I had only a coin of Rs 5, and he didn't have Rs 3 to give me in return.
There was a brief interlude.
Noticing that there were others waiting in the queue, and not wanting to prolong the agony, I told the official, "It's ok. I will give you Rs 5 and you can keep the change of Rs 3."
He looked surprised; but seemed to agree to the deal.
Just then, a young lady, standing next to me in the queue, moved forward, took out her wallet, and said, "I have a Rs 2 coin. You can give this. ... "
It took a moment for me to realise what was happening. And I said, "O no, it's fine. It's just three rupees. It comes and goes". Only the other day the vegetable vendor had waived Rs 3 I owed him.
Pushing the Rs 2 coin forward, she said, "Precisely. Two rupees also comes and goes. That's ok. I have been in such situations before."
She in fact pushed that Rs 2 coin through the opening on the ticket counter window. Probably assuming that she and I were known to each other, the ticketing official took that Rs 2 coin. He gave me the token, and turned his attention to that lady.
In the meantime, I thanked that unknown young woman. It also left me a wondering why did she do that, though it was all about just Rs 2. Maybe someone had earlier similarly helped her with change; and she just wanted to keep that chain going.
While she was getting her smart card recharged, I told her. "Thank you, for your kindness," and I headed to the platform to take the Metro. I didn't see her after that.
I was at a Metro Rail station. Since I had forgotten my prepaid smart card at home, I had to purchase a token. At the booking counter, the official asked me if I had a change of Rs 2.
But I had only a coin of Rs 5, and he didn't have Rs 3 to give me in return.
There was a brief interlude.
Noticing that there were others waiting in the queue, and not wanting to prolong the agony, I told the official, "It's ok. I will give you Rs 5 and you can keep the change of Rs 3."
He looked surprised; but seemed to agree to the deal.
Just then, a young lady, standing next to me in the queue, moved forward, took out her wallet, and said, "I have a Rs 2 coin. You can give this. ... "
It took a moment for me to realise what was happening. And I said, "O no, it's fine. It's just three rupees. It comes and goes". Only the other day the vegetable vendor had waived Rs 3 I owed him.
Pushing the Rs 2 coin forward, she said, "Precisely. Two rupees also comes and goes. That's ok. I have been in such situations before."
She in fact pushed that Rs 2 coin through the opening on the ticket counter window. Probably assuming that she and I were known to each other, the ticketing official took that Rs 2 coin. He gave me the token, and turned his attention to that lady.
In the meantime, I thanked that unknown young woman. It also left me a wondering why did she do that, though it was all about just Rs 2. Maybe someone had earlier similarly helped her with change; and she just wanted to keep that chain going.
While she was getting her smart card recharged, I told her. "Thank you, for your kindness," and I headed to the platform to take the Metro. I didn't see her after that.
World is not a bad place as many think. ... and women can be quite helpful, you see!
ReplyDeleteWe tend to overlook these small incidents, don't we?
DeleteAnd, I knew you were going to come up with that point you made regarding women! :-)
Thanks for the positivity!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Sundar. Why don't your resume blogging?
DeleteSmall act of kindness makes a huge difference... Right Pradeep sir...
ReplyDeleteTrue, Akshaya. Thanks for your comment. :-)
DeleteWonderful gesture by that young lady. Something similar happened to me. I wrote about it in 2010. Here it is.
ReplyDeletehttps://sgshootthebreeze.blogspot.com/2010/02/whodunit.html
When I pasted this link, the screen said, "Blog not found". Then I got to your post after inserting a hyphen after "sg". :-)
DeleteThanks for pointing me to that post of yours. I have left a comment there.
There's still hope in this world! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Thanks for the comment. :-)
DeleteA little positivity is always welcome! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Deepika for the comment. :-) I think you should resume blogging!
DeleteNice to read.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad world after all :-)
ReplyDeleteso much positivity....:) #smallhappiness
ReplyDeleteWow!! That is a sweet encounter. In a world full of people fighting over just a rupee, she was generous enough to give Two rupees to a stranger, just like that? Rare People :) Very nicely written, Sir :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Akshita :-)
DeleteHi Pradeep, Yes, we do bump into such sweet people on and off in life.
ReplyDeleteOn an another note, women are very helpful :)
Or maybe it was your charm that the lady couldn't resist helping you ;)
:-) Thank you, Rachna :-)
DeletePossible that the ticket giver might be playing this trick often and she might have become a victim.So she didn't want that man to play that smart.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat's a sweet gesture. And as you mentioned, small fruit and vegetable vendors do it all the time
ReplyDeleteHi Pradeep - it's an excellent story ... and so kind of your fellow queuer to help you ... even better she was a woman! But we can all help others in small ways quite often - it's being ready to proffer that small change or put it in a donation box ... well done - and I know it will appear again in your life - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary, for dropping by and for your comments.
Delete