The Good Samaritan I Came Across Last Night

Last night (29th September 2008) I had a great experience, as I came across a Good Samaritan. It was around 2 am (in that sense it took place today, 30th September 2008), and I was returning to home from office.

So what did he do? Well, first let me give some background.



The background

Last night when my reporting head Mr Abhiram Mishra released me for the day, it was 9 pm. I could have easily caught a bus from the Mathura Road bust stop in front of my office, and come back at my Noida home by at most 10:30 pm. But I tried to act smart. My colleague Sachin was also supposed to go in my route (his home is not far away from mine), and he was going to have the office cab. So I felt it was better to wait for Sachin to be through with his work, and go back home with him in the same cab that had been assigned to him. I asked Sachin how long he would take, and he said it would be at most 1 hour (i.e. 10 pm).

I started waiting, and suddenly I realized that it was already 11 pm. Though I was impatient, that time it was not even possible for me to go by bus, as travelling in bus at that hour is not a safe option in Delhi.

So I continued waiting, now as a compulsion. And it seemed to be unending. From 11 pm it became 12 am, then 12:30 am, and then 1 am. And still Sachin was not through with his work.

Now I was completely at my wit’s end. On one hand I could not wait any more (there were constant calls from my home), and on the other hand I had no other option (as the option of travelling by bus had already got closed).

I was restless, I was excited, I wanted using my entire intelligence (whatever little I have) to dig out a solution, when I suddenly found that my boss Mr Abhiram Mishra was still there in his cabin, busy finishing some work. (Oh, I doubt whether I have ever felt so happy after seeing him). I straightway entered his cabin. Stunned, he asked me why I was still at office. I explained everything, and he said that he would give me a lift (incidentally, he stays near my home) while going back home after around 30 minutes.

And ultimately, it was Mr Mishra who took me in his car, and dropped me at a point near my home while on way to his own home.


Now, the actual drama

My home is just 15 minutes walk from the point where Mr Mishra dropped me. But crossing even that short distance at 2 am (in fact, anytime after 11 pm) is a nightmare for me. Why? Muggers? Ghosts? Nopes. Then? Well, the problem is stray dogs.

Well, you may find it very funny. But honestly, I am terribly afraid of stray dogs. The moment I find a single stray dog in the road I immediately change the route provided I have any alternative. This is even when it is broad daylight (when stray dogs are less tending to be suspicious of passersby) and the road is full of other people (who can ensure that the dog will not have sole attention on me). So you can understand how I felt when I found that I was supposed to pass through a lane which was likely to have a huge number of stray dogs. And moreover the time was late night (when stray dogs tend to be very suspicious of passersby), and there was not a single other person.

And I had no other option. There was another route to go home, but that would make me pass through a similar lane (i.e. full of stray dogs), and would also take more time.

I was wondering what to do, feeling the same helplessness that I was having while waiting for Sachin to get through with his work. I was standing so near my home, and yet ……


The arrival of the Good Samaritan

I was making fruitless effort for mustering courage to proceed, when suddenly a car (a white car the model of which I did not notice) came near that lane, flashing its left indicator that showed that it was going to enter that very lane that I was supposed to enter. I desperately shouted -"Bhaisaab!"

The car stopped, and the driver (the only person in the car) peeped outside through the driving side window. A man in his late 20s or early 30s, the driver was dressed in shabby clothes, and showed every sign of belonging to the so called “lower strata” of the society.

“Will you go this way?”, I asked him desperately.

“Yes, I will. Why?” The man was visibly surprised, understandably.

“Well, actually, I have to go this way. Can you please give me a lift? There are full of stray dogs.”

“Really? Ha ha! OK, get in Sir”.

The man took me inside the car, and entered the lane. We passed through half of the lane, when he said that he would turn left.

“Now I will go left. Where is your home?”
“At the end of this lane.” I said nervously. Then I asked him again, “Can you please drop me at the end of the lane, please?”

“OK, no problem”. The person proceeded again, and dropped me at the entrance of our neighborhood, from where my home is just 5 minutes.

I gave him lots of thanks, and came down from the car, and……

A group of stray dogs are standing there, looking at me with ferocious (so it appeared to me) eyes. And within seconds they started barking.

I had just turned into a statue. I knew that now I could not even ask the person to give me further lift in his car, as there was a huge iron gate at the entrance of our neighborhood. This gate is kept open throughout the day, and is shut down after 11 pm by the local guards.

I was almost in tears, when the man came down from the car and stood beside me. “Come, I will help you”. He held my hand, and started escorting me through that small army of dogs. And what surprised me was that the dogs immediately stopped barking – let alone charging us - the moment the guy came down and accompanied me.

The guy escorted me for almost the entire distance that remained, when there appeared a night guard.

The guy requested him to accompany me for the rest of the road (only few steps were remaining), and now said good bye.

“You are really great!” My voice was chocked with gratitude. “I will never forget your help”.

“Ha ha, it is OK. It is perfectly OK. Good night!” The man turned round, and left.

The guard accompanied me to the gate of my building, and I finally entered home after a memorable day (or shall I say night?).


The final conclusion – the world is not that bad as we often feel it to be

I am genuinely touched by the gesture of that person, who was in every sense a so called ordinary person with very ordinary life and habits. His appearance and way of speaking made it very clear that he was either a driver or a car mechanic or something like that, and by all means not very educated.

But the man has humanity. He did not hesitate to stop his car to respond to my call, though it was 2 am, and the road was completely empty (I myself would not have stopped probably). And he also gave me a lift, and even took the trouble of escorting me through those stray dogs.

I do not know his name. I do not even properly remember his face (I was too excited to notice it properly). But I will always remember the way he helped me at the time of my need. I accept that the situation might not be that serious for everybody. I know that a lot of people would have easily reached home without bothering about the stray dogs. But that is a different issue. It was a serious problem for me, and he helped me at that time.


29th September 2008 (officially 30th September, as it was 2 am). I will always remember the date. No, not because of this so called nocturnal adventure. But because on this day I have met somebody from a rare species, the species we have termed as “Good Samaritans”.

www.visitjordan.com – An ideal example of destination marketing effort

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting http://www.visitjordan.com/, the official web site of Jordan Tourism Board, i.e. the organization responsible for promoting Jordan as a tourist destination. And man, it was a real pleasure!

The site exemplifies one of the best specimens of Destination Marketing that I have come across so far. What I liked most was not the comprehensiveness of information displayed by it, but the innovative way by which those information were disseminated. For example the way the Hollywood connection of the Nebataean city of Petra was discussed. The innovative and racy language used in that description immediately catches the visitor's attention, eventually making that otherwise moderately interesting information sound like a thrilling one.

The site reflects a superb command of Web Marketing domain, while also reflecting a sound knowledge of the Marketing Communication field as a whole.

And, as I already said, the site has established itself as a gem of Destination Marketing initiative.

Loads of congrats to each and every person behind this beautiful site.

Virtually An Orphan, 5 Years Old Rimi Is Fighting Thalassemia Singlehandedly

5 years old Rimi Sardar is suffering from Thalassemia. Worse, she is forced to fight it singlehandedly.

Why singlehandedly? Because she is now virtually an orphan. The only elder she has beside her is Padma, her 50 plus maternal grandmother. And Padma herself is physically disabled, with her right hand amputed.

The sweet girl hails from a small village called Talda in eastern India, in the South 24 Parganas district of the state of West Bengal. The village has witnessed some bitter political struggles between two local political parties, and these struggles often turn violent with the indiscriminate use of fire arms and other lethal weapons.

Rimi’s mother was shot dead in the month of May. She was casting her vote in a local “Panchayat” election, when she was shot by a miscreant. It was in this same incident that Rimi’s granny Padma was also shot and injured, virtually losing her right hand.

On the other hand Rimi’s father and some other members of the family – all accused of being involved in a political clash - have been awarded life terms. They are all now in jail.

The end result - Rimi and her granny have been left in the lurch.

The almighty is now the only hope for Rimi.

Kolkata Guy Marries Two Sisters

Something interesting has happened in Kolkata (or Calcutta) in eastern India, the city where I grew up. I just felt I should share the incident with my friends who are unaware of it.

A Kolkata guy, named Kaushik Dutta has married two sisters – Jhuma and Shoma. And now these three (one husband and his two wives) are staying together in a single house.

All three of the “dramatis personae” are reportedly well educated and belong to the so-called upper class of the society. Jhuma is a post-graduate, while the younger sister Shoma holds a doctorate. The three jointly own a publishing house that brings out text books.

Quite naturally it has caused sensations in the city, with various prominent personalities (sociologists, authors, etc) expressing different views. Apart from being against the Hindu Marriage Act, this marriage is also being accused of being unethical. However, there are some who are supporting what Kaushik has done, saying that his act reflects the basic human nature.

I will not like to express any personal view, as I feel I am not intelligent or knowledgeable enough to make any analysis of this exceptional incident. Rather I will leave it to my friends to make their own analysis.


The link to the news is given below –

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1192396

My apologies to my friend Shanti Khumukcham

I am writing this diary to apologise to my colleague (read my friend) Shanti Kumar Khumukcham.

We have been working in the same organization for more than 1 year, and Mr Shanti Khumukcham has been such a nice friend to me. He was always there for me, trying to cover my deficits and weak points.

And I am such a scoundrel, other day I got him into such a big trouble in the office, simply due to my extremely irresponsible and callous behaviour. It was such a development that got Shanti's loyalty and credibility under scanner, while I myself know that he is one of the most loyal persons at our office. And all this happened only because of me.


I am so ashamed and repentant. I have just proved myself to be somebody completely unworthy of friendship. I have proved myself to be a scoundrel, who has caused such a harm to a friend who was so supportive.

Shanti has stopped talking to me, and I know he will never forgive me. I have been repeatedly apologising to him, but he is unmoved. And I know I would have done the same thing if I were there in his position.

I am sorry for sharing such a personal issue here. But the weight of repentance is constantly getting heavier. I just cannot carry it anymore. I have never had so much hatred for myself. This is the first time that I have disappointed a friend so badly.

An online counselor has suggested me to make the confession to somebody, so that I could feel a bit relaxed. And so I am sharing it here.

I know that I have made a mistake, in fact a serious mistake. But I am happy that I have been able to confess it.

Let the almighty always be with Shanti, and give him genuine friends.

Wanna Know A Litte About Terrorists? Well.....

The only religion they believe in is 'Devastation'

Inflicting harm on others is their most favourite passion.

They love to destabilize the entire world

As hatred against the entire human race is their greatest obsession.


And the only 'medicine' effective against these scoundrels?

A ruthless and all out attack, aimed at complete annihilation.

Real Life Bollywood – Couple Murder Relative To Avenge Rape

This may seem to have been taken straightway from a Bollywood cliché, but in reality it is a real incident that took place at Siliguri, a small town in eastern India and incidentally my birth place.

The accused couple – Anil Prakash Verma (a school teacher) and his wife Nilu Devi – are the residents of Khagra, another small town in eastern India. They are accused of (and they have admitted it themselves) of coming to Siliguri and boarding a hotel under false names, calling their Patna-based relative Ashoke Kumar Verma there under some pretext, and stabbing the latter to death in the night after dinner.

The couple have accused that the victim had visited their home in May, when Mr Anil was out of town. The victim, as per the couple’s version, had taken the advantage of Mr Anil’s absence and raped Nilu.

However, the couple had abstained from informing the police, as the victim, a successful contractor, was both rich and influential, and the couple were worried that police would fail to take any suitable step against him.

Thus the couple decided to take the law in their own hands. They planned for more than 3 months, and the ultimate result was the chilling incident that took place at a Siliguri hotel.

The commotion at the time of stabbing had alerted the hotel staff, who caught the couple red handed when they were already through with their “mission”. The couple are now in police custody, with the police officials themselves shocked with the incident.

I am an ordinary person, and I do not know whether my views at all matter to anybody. However, if the couple’s allegation against the deceased is true, them my full sympathy is with them.

Response Net May Be Your Trusted Medium For Helping The Flood Victims of Bihar And Assam

Just in my last posting I had appealed to every reader to do something for our hapless friends of Bihar and Assam, whose lives have been devastated by the recent floods.

However, this thought was very much in my mind that even if a person wants to help the victims, he might be confused about choosing the right partner, i.e. the right place to donate.

Yes, we all know about the relevant government agencies like Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. But there may be some who will like to go for a private organization, provided the latter has suitable credibility.

One of the names that I have gathered so far is that of Response Net. It is an organization that is really working hard for the flood victims. I feel one willing to do something for the flood victims may get in touch with this organization, and see for himself whether the organization is the right partner for the noble cause. I strongly feel he will not be disappointed.

Let’s Help The Flood Victims Of Bihar And Assam

The recent floods in Bihar and Assam have devastated the lives of a number of our fellow countrymen. I was regularly following all the relevant news and developments, and was feeling disturbed. However, very honestly speaking, the thought of doing something to help them did not strike to my mind.

It was only today that I came across a suggestion made by fellow blogger Mr. Sanjay Jha - from Delhi Bloggers Bloc – that something should be done for our hapless countrymen. Despite being short, Sanjay’s message was so powerful that it immediately touched my heart.

I humbly request to everybody who comes across this blog posting to do something for those star-crossed friends of ours. Little contributions from each of us may collectively turn into something substantial for them.

At the end, lots of thanks to Sanjay for inspiring me to at least think of doing something, instead of just tracking news through media and discuss the same with friends.