[honeybee]

Friends, every day in our lives we come across situations where we have to make a choice. It usually involves trading off some personal safety, comfort time or even money to do something which will benefit others. The acts may be small but the results could be big. I intend this thread to be a place where everyone posts about when s/he was a good samaritan to the world around him/her.

Please do not post anything else in this thread. Let this be a log of people doing good deeds to help others.

Starting with me, five days ago as I left home and walked towards my car, I noticed a sizeable hole dug in the middle of the road. It was about 8-9 inches in diameter and more than a foot deep. Since it was unmarked and unattended, it was kind of dangerous. So I looked around, found a thin wooden baton-like piece on the side of the road and planted it in the hole so the top few inches would protrude out and above the road surface. I hope it warned the other road users of the existence of the hole.

The hole is now covered up.

[revintup]

15 years back while veerapan was very much in the satyamangalam forests,we had a breakdown at 12am in the middle of satyamangalam forest.No cell phones,no houses in sight,very few vehicles.No cars stopped(fear of veerapan and kidnapping) for two hours and then comes this tempo carrying fresh flowers.he stops,enquires,works on our vehicle for two hours and finally our car is ready and running.We offer him cash,gifts,sweets which are rejected.All that he accepts is a bottle of mineral water!

God bless him.

[traveloholic]

What a thread, was thinking of searching for something of this sort yesterday. It was a simple gesture that turned into a great experience towards knowing people.

Was on the way to Office, when I had to stop at a place to meet one of my friends to hand over some valuable documents. Post the Wait-Greet-Meet-Leave session, I reached my car.

Standing beside my car were 3 college going kids in their teens fighting with each other over travelling on a Scooterette. These kids wanted to visit one of their friends and wanted to triple-ride the Scooterette. The kiddo owner was apprehensive about it. I was overhearing their discussions all this while.

A halo popped on the top of my head and I like a humble human being asked the guys if they wanted me to drop someone enroute?

They were flabbergasted but the offer was something they could not say no to. As they were avoiding the unnecessary hassles of Triple Riding, Cops and etc. Luck was on their side as I was going the same way, where they wanted to go. A chap jumps into my car and off we were towards my destination or rather say, our destination.

The Chap turned out to be a college going kid doing his B.Tech Final Year in Automobile Engineering and as usual, the moment I heard Automobile, our discussions veered towards Team-BHP and he is one of those lurkers, who read each and every thread here. He was all praises for Team-BHP and stuff. I never noticed, how we covered the distance as we were well engrossed with our discussions about Mahindra Thar, Behram Dhabar (BD was one of the judges during some auto fest they participated and showcased their Buggy there) and a lot more. The final departing words were equally great with me wishing him the best for his future and his trials for MS in US. I felt happy about doing something for someone I did not even know about 30 mins ago.

[suhaas307]

I was driving on my way to college the other day. I think it was a month ago. There seemed to be a massive jam right at the Lifestyle junction and I could hear lots of honking and I could sense the impatience of commuters.

As I crawled forward along with the traffic, I noticed a blue cargo-rickshaw on the road and it was stationary. On closer inspection, I noticed that it had a flat at the back, and also what looked like a broken suspension part, as the rickshaw's rear was sagging at the right hand side. When I peeped into the cargo-bay, I saw quite a lot of crates and other goods. The pressure and weight obviously led to the flat.

So I decided to stop my car at the side of the road and helped them push it out of the traffic's way. Initially, when I'd approached the auto-rickshaw, they thought I was one of those commuters who wanted to give them a piece of my mind because of their incompetence. Instead, I assisted them in pushing the vehicle off the road. I offered to help them with the flat tyre and the broken part, but they said that their friend was on his way, so I got into my car and drove away.

I felt pretty good about myself that day.

All it took was a little brawn and some compassion to see smiles on disgruntled faces.

[2500cc]

Last Nov, while returning from Goa in my Bolero, we saw a nice waterfall. We passed the waterfall, but kids wanted to play there for a while so decided to stop for them. My friend was driving my Bolero and while reversing the vehicle close the falls, there was a gutter running on the pavement and was fully covered with grass, my friend obviously didn't notice it and the left rear wheel went into the 2ft gutter and the vehicle wasn't coming out after many attempts. A fish carrying Eicher van saw us struggling and came to our help, he tied the rope to my vehicle and pulled my Bolero out. We didn't know how to thank those folks so offered them some cash, they rejected it out right by saying "Insaaniyat ke value hi nahi hai kya saab". We felt so embarrassed on our part and apologized to them. They just smiled and left. Will never forget this incident.

[honeybee]

I remember two other incidents back in 2005 when Mumbai was flooded. I stayed at the office in the night, and my car (M800 then) was parked in the office compound, safely out of the floods.

Next morning around 8:30 I went out for a stroll and also to survey the road conditions as I wanted to return to my lodgings (Seven Bunglows). As I walked around the block, I saw a white Maruti Omni with a young woman in the driving seat and an elderly gentleman sitting behind, obviously stuck. It seems the water had gotten to the engine and the van had died. So I helped the young woman by pushing the van to a side where it wouldn't obstruct traffic and also gave them the helpline numbers of Spectra Motors. Since their phones were not working, I tried calling up that number, but it didn't ring. After checking with the young woman to make sure they would be ok, I left. (The woman told me the elderly gentleman was her father, he suffered from a heart condition and had been travelling by bus which was caught in the floods. She had been out looking for him and just when they decided to head home, the car had stranded.

After I drove back to my lodgings I had some rest, bath and lunch. Then I started out again, buying some vada pavs on the way and drove back to office. On my way at the Indian Oil signal, a couple was waving, so I stopped. They wanted a ride till the link road extension. I happily obliged. The couple had a toddler with them, and both mother and father had been stranded last night at their offices, and were meeting their daughter after a full 24 hours. I dropped them at their location and drove back to office.

The watchman of our office building hadn't been able to go home as his reliever hadn't turned up due to the floods. So I offered him the vada pavs (I knew he would be starving and nobody else would be bothering about what he ate).

Felt really good that day.

[niranjanrvce]

This happened on the weekend of 15th Aug. A bunch of us were on a trip to Malnad and were on our way to Thirthahalli from Jog Falls.

For those unfamiliar with this route, this road goes through the western ghats and is hedged in by thick forest on both sides especially for the last half of the journey. It's a small single land road and two cars will find it hard to pass each other. It was past 9 pm in the night and pitch dark. The headlights barely manage to illuminate the road and the road itself is a typical monsoon-ghats road - all broken up and patchy. I am doing about 40-50 and it's hard to meet a vehicle for kms on end.

We then see a tiny little patch of light on the road in front. I slow down. As we approach the light, we realize it's a villager on a cycle coming from the opposite side. With a chinese LED torch stuck to his cap! We marvel at the ingenuity and move on.

A few kms more and I see the same tiny patch of light again. "Ah, here's another one of them", I tell my friends. But something doesn't look right this time. The light is right in my path. And flashing. I slow down to 20 odd.
My headlights bring the source into view and it's a big fat TATA Sumo! Filled to the brim with people. The front passenger is frantically flashing a LED torch. I see several waving hands. The Sumo has lost all of its lights and they are trying to drive through a forest in pitch black darkness using a LED torch!
I pull up next to the driver and ask him if he is raving mad. There is no way he can see where the road goes - he might drive off a ledge. At 5 km/hr. And qualify for the Darwin Awards.
He says they are afraid of being stuck in the forest in the night and no vehicle has stopped for them so far. I ask them where they want to go - Thirthahalli as luck can have it. I ask them to tailgate me closely and follow. I get in front and start driving at 15-20 with the Sumo a couple of feet behind. We are still about 30 kms away from our destination and this looks like it's going to be a long night.

About 10 kms later I see a pair of headlights approaching in my rear view mirror. A Santro with a family approaches us and honks to be given way. I pull to the left and signal the Sumo to do the same. The Santro begins passing us, takes a look at what is happening and stops right away. He backs up and asks us to proceed. So now we have a full fledged convoy - me in front, the hapless Sumo in between and the Santro behind with his high beam on to illuminate the Sumo's path. All doing about 20 for over an hour. I am pleasantly surprised a the Santro guy's gesture. There is a warm glow in my heart.

We reach Thrithahalli and the guys in the Sumo get down and thank us and the Santro folks profusely and we move on.

[chevelle]

This happened on i-80 freeway. Its one of largest freeway in USA connecting east-west.

I was going about 70 mph and in front a SUV(GMC Tahoe) came in front after changing lanes. I immediately noticed the fuel tank is not closed and the fuel lid that we use is hanging outside loosely. I immediately got worried about a possible fire or fuel leakage so i decided to signal him about danger. So, i speed up and got into second lane parallel to the SUV and start honking and waving to the driver. He initially didn't notice me but i went slight ahead in my lane and then he noticed me. I signaled him about fuel tank being open. Initially he didn't understand but he understood that something is wrong, so we both slowed down from 75mph to 65mph and i shouted again in slow motion so that he knew something is wrong with fuel tank and he saw in the RVM that the fuel lid is hanging outside. He immediately acknowledge and gave a thumbs up and he pulled over. As i continued ahead, i felt good that i saved a possible family and a SUV from going in flames.

Another incident: Since i recently graduated from Master's i know how students here walk or bike to nearest grocery store for their daily grocery. If one walks, it is approximately 30 mins one way. So during weekend, i take my car and ask friends and spread the word about visit to grocery store. I manage to get 5 friends, so atleast 5 homes get their weekly grocery in car with me rather than walking. Also some other students contact these friends so some more homes get their weekly grocery because of this. Saves them time, energy and possibility of being robbed. Also, if i am coming or going on the same road and if i see anybody walking back home with grocery, i give them a ride home so that they don't have to walk. The happy faces of my friends and other students makes my day. I also don't differentiate about Nationality. I ask them irrespective of who they are and drop them off at their place. The only thing i have noticed is, other people are little hesitant getting in my car while Indians are not. For other people i have to explicitly mention i stay at the same place as they do, then only they hop in.

Makes me feel good because when i was student, i use to walk/bike similarly but nobody stopped for us in those 2 years when we went grocery shopping in scorching heat of 110 degrees F or chilling temperature of 32 degrees F.

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by 2500cc

..offered them some cash, they rejected it out right by saying "Insaaniyat ke value hi nahi hai kya saab". We felt so embarrassed on our part and apologized to them...

A problem with most of us "educated" folks. We over-value money. This incident illustrates there are several things money can't buy.

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

...
We reach Thrithahalli and the guys in the Sumo get down and thank us and the Santro folks profusely and we move on.

Sweet My belief in human species went up a notch.

Fantastic thread btw.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

The Sumo has lost all of its lights and they are trying to drive through a forest in pitch black darkness using a LED torch!

Just curious, did anyone check the fuses?

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by bblost

Just curious, did anyone check the fuses?

I did not ask - I assumed if they are crazy enough to try driving with a torch, they would have checked their fuses at least. Moreover, at that point of time my instinct was to to get them to the town and let them figure it out there.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

So now we have a full fledged convoy - me in front, the hapless Sumo in between and the Santro behind with his high beam on to illuminate the Sumo's path. All doing about 20 for over an hour. I am pleasantly surprised a the Santro guy's gesture. There is a warm glow in my heart.

We reach Thrithahalli and the guys in the Sumo get down and thank us and the Santro folks profusely and we move on.

Wow.. This incident made me get gooseflesh. My respect and belief in humanity has gone up. Will do the same if I see this situation.
Great Thread!! Isnt it peculiar that we always crib and rant about what is NOT going on well, but fail to notice what IS going on well!

[sandip]

Hi Guys,

Often we have gone the extra mile to help some one - on the road, at office, in the neighbourhood.

I thought why not jot them down ?

Mods : Please remove if there is an existing thread on this.

On my way home to drop my relatives and return to office, I see a line of cars honking away at a black Ford Figo. The Figo was stationery at a juncture under a railway fly over, through which only one car could pass at one time.

When I came near the spot ( I was approaching it from the opposite direction), I saw that the car was brand new (not even the registration), the driver was brand new too - she kept stalling the car every time she was trying to start it. That there wasa slight incline and around 10 cars honking didn't help either.

I got out of my car, offered to help them. This is the first time that I saw someone "happpily" hand over the keys of a working car to some unknown guy.

I drove the car to a relatively wide space and moved on...
Felt good


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[rohan_iitr]

When I went to the nearby ATM yesterday, I noticed that someone had forgotten his/her ATM card and it was lying on top of the ATM.

I collected the ATM card and submitted it to the bank staff sitting outside the ATM.

While the ATM card can't be misused by anyone else, but whoever left his/her card there would have to face inconvenience for getting the card blocked and getting another card issued from the bank.

I hope the owner remembers where he/she misplaced the card and went back to the ATM to collect it.

I wonder what else could I have done in such a situation.

Rohan

[drmohitg]

this happened way back in 1996 or 97, I am not sure now. My parents, my sis, my grandmother and yours truly , were returning from Jaipur in our Maruti Van along with a driver. I was around 12 years old that time. Unluckily the Van broke down near the midway and we were stuck. Out of heaven came this Guy travelling with his wife and a kid my age in his red Maruti 800 and without us indicating stopped his car to enquire if we needed any help. We were so touched and surprised. But ofcourse he wasn't able to help with the car but to our surprise offered to drop us to Delhi as it was getting dark. I don't think I can ever forget that ride. He drove the car, his wife ( poor lady) had to take there kid in the front and my parents and grandmother plus me and sis in the lap on the back seat. Kudos to that Maruti car which bore the brunt with 5 adults and 3 kids plus the luggage. The driver stayed with the broken car and got it repaired and came the next day to delhi. We reached Delhi at around 11pm in the night and earlier this gentleman had offered to drop us right after entering Delhi as he stayed in south delhi and we at the other end of the city. But due to traffic we got late and when we reached Delhi he himself offered us a ride all the way home since we would have a tough time finding an Auto or bus.

But unluckily for us my dad lost the slip he took this guys number on and till date we have been hoping to come across him. Are you there on TBHP by any chance mister?