Dubai, UAE. I had boarded the bus to Rashidiya Metro Station and then to my sister's place. Now let me describe the Dubai RTA (road & transport authority) buses.
The buses, red in color have lesser space than our local Indian buses, with an automated card system and sophisticated looking seats and ambience. And of course, filled with people from over 160 different nationalities- a trademark of Dubai.
So here I am sitting in the bus- thinking about the latest pjs (hey I can have a strange hobby!), when the bus starts getting crowded. The present scenario in the bus is like this: three chattery Philippinos, a group of constant smsing girls, me and around fifteen more people, all from different places. At the next bus stop, an elderly lady (I believe Irish) enters and finding no vacant seat, stands near the gate.
So I am looking at the lady, wondering how to get to her and give her my seat. I look towards her but she's looking the other way round. Not able to reach her- I somehow manage to catch her attention, and offer her my seat. The lady- grateful, thanks me for this gesture and we begin a small conversation.
The lady (remember- a Irish) then asks me where I was from. After coming to know about my Indian roots, she embarks on the long independence struggle that India had when the British were there (still don't get the relevance of this with me vacating the seat-but what the heck!) and says that Indians are possibly the best people around. Her stop approaching, she thanks me again and says, "I'll remember you as the Man Who Stood Up".
Well, this small gesture of mine went down so well with that lady. She was grateful- something that she'll remember when she sees an Indian. So well why can't we do this more often? Why does our own ego blind us when it comes to help others. Lets try placing a little bit of others before your own self. Think how you would feel if you were in that person's place. Why can't we be compassionate and considerate enough when people need us? Why can't all of us be remembered as the man who stood up.
The author's views are personal only.
This article was originally published here: https://salilsrivastava.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-man-who-stood-up.html
