Random Acts of Kindness .....

In many ways I consider newspaper reading, breaking news, idle gossip ..... corrosive; like slow drips of acid on the human psyche. After sometime no matter how upbeat one is, the constant barrage of negative news is simply too much. Overtly dramatic ? Perhaps .... but being inherently cynical; such reports only cement my belief; that if the human race were to be eradicated then every other species on earth would benefit !!

Almost a non sequitur :) Considering how much my family enjoys road travel - when I casually envisaged being recipient to random kindness I always thought it would be somewhere remote. Like Spiti Valley or Lahaul Valley, near Chandratal or Kunzum Pass; near Tukula in Sikkim or when we bolted through the Chambal valley [ The landscape was so .. so .... beautiful  ] And yet when it happened - it was in my own prosaic corner of the world. Near Mangalore.

After spending the weekend in Mangalore we set out on Sunday. My hubby was worried about the air pressure in the tyres but perhaps b'cos it was Sunday - we did not find any place open for an air check for a long time. The roads were in an appalling condition. So many potholes, I felt like we were playing hopscotch. Anywayz ...when we finally spotted a place - we had the air checked.

So of course - based on Murphy's laws - at the next pothole we got a flat tyre !! After jacking up the car - when we went to get the spare tyre - it had no air. Again .. but of course ! :)

Broad daylight and no specific cause of worry but I was looking towards the road wondering who would respond to a gesture for help. I did not flag anyone and I have no idea of the expression on my face but a SUV full of guys who looked like they were in their early twenties came to us - from the opposite direction. And they asked if we needed help.

After a short talk - they offered to take the tyre to the nearest place, get it filled with air and come back. They insisted my hubby stay back probably b'cos our child and I would be left alone. It was this additional step that disarmed me. It is one thing to help but to be sensitive to other factors ? Not expected. Since obviously we had qualms [ although not voiced ] - two of them also stayed with us.

When the tyre was fixed - during the casual talk, it astonished me when I heard, these guyz had passed us in their SUV and had turned back when they felt something was wrong. Another additional step ......

The beautiful spot where we our tyre went flat !

This post  makes it sound like I have not been at the receiving end of kindness from strangers. I have and some of them life giving. Still ..... they were quite some time back ..... [  And perhaps that is another post - whenever relevant ! ] :)

With a misanthropic bent of mind - is it any wonder , a random act of kindness by complete strangers has left me bemused ?? ! But ... true to form [ yes yes ... true to form; don't be so disbelieving :)  ] - I want to pass it on whenever I get a chance. :)