If you are a tourist, the first thing you will be warned about when you land in India is to steer clear of notorious auto drivers who will never lose a chance to fleece you. But the story of this golden-hearted auto driver, will make you rethink that idea.
On January 4, Rana Saha, an NRI from Abu Dhabi, took a rickshaw from Modeltown in Mulund (West) to Hiranandani Meadows in Thane. Saha, who was in the city to visit his family, said, "I left my home at around 8 am in a rickshaw and reached Mulund checknaka, from where I took another rickshaw."
After paying the driver the auto fare, he forgot his purse inside the auto. After boarding the other auto for Thane, he stopped at an ATM at Teen hath naka. That was when he realized his wallet was missing. "I told the driver about it and he told me that he will inquire with his fellow drivers at Mulund checknaka and let me know," said the NRI.
At 8.15 am, he dropped Saha at Meadows and they exchanged their phone numbers. Saha was to leave for a picnic to Vajreshwari with his friends. Within 45 minutes, he got a call from the driver, Shantaram Bavaskar, who told him that he had found his wallet.
"I drove fast to Mulund checknaka and inquired with my colleagues. They told me that they had found a black wallet lying on the road. I took the wallet, called up Saha and drove back to Hiranandani," said Bavaskar.
Within 10-15 minutes, Bavaskar Saha and handed over his wallet. The wallet had Rs 900 and a lot of foreign currency including $200, 200 dirhams, 100 Bangladeshi takas and 100 Sri Lankan rupees. "I gave the entire Rs 900 to Baviskar and thanked him profusely. More than the money, there were some documents in my wallet which were important to me," said Saha.
Saha said that this is his first pleasant experience with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai. "Earlier, my wife had lost a cell phone but she never got it back. This driver is quite honest and I am grateful to him," he said.
To spread the word about Baviskar's honest act, Saha clicked a picture with him and circulated it among his 900 contacts on WhatsApp. "This experience was a little different. I will cherish it all my life," he said before catching his flight back to Abu Dhabi.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}