The steep climb to life's lessons

Unlike Chennai, Bangalore is a city with undulating terrain. Which explains why I was helping a rather old and frail auto rickshaw driver push his vehicle up a slope near MES College in Malleswaram. The poor guy’s rickshaw had broken down, and he needed help.

Now, I am no spring chicken myself, and I was huffing and puffing as I gamely tried to give the rickety old rickshaw a shove, at least till it reached the crest of the small slope. It was late in the evening, and there were not too many people around.

Suddenly, a youngster drove up on a scooter and parked it just opposite us, near the entrance to the college. “Help at last”, I thought to myself. But instead of crossing the road to where we were, this guy dashes into the college. “That’s the trouble with present-day youth”, I quickly generalise, cursing under my breath. “They are so self absorbed, they don’t bother to come to others’ aid.”

Turning back to the task at hand, I continue with my exertions, with the old man also lending a hand. Soon we reach the crest of the slope, near where Sir C V Raman’s house stands. The difficult part is done, and the man says he’ll manage from there on. I leave him to his devices and resume my walk.

I have barely taken another 50 steps when a scooter drives up and stops next to me. It is that same guy who had not bothered to help us just a few minutes ago and instead rushed into the college.

He seems a little distraught and out of breath. He says, “Uncle, can you tell me where the blood bank is? Someone told me there was one somewhere here. My friend’s wife has just delivered a baby at a nursing home nearby, and the doctors say the baby needs blood urgently.”

Now, I happen to know that the blood bank he was referring to has closed down and doesn’t exist anymore. But, I also happen to have the contact details of a go-to person for just such emergencies. I give him this person’s number and tell him that he will definitely get help from that quarter. He tries the number immediately, and from the way the look on his face changes to one of relief as the conversation progresses, you could tell that he has got a positive response. Thanking me profusely, he gets back on his scooter and rides away.

As for me, I realise what an oaf I was to come to quick conclusions about people based on the stereotypes that I carried in my head.