write a diary entry describng the incident and how you felt when you witnessed the act of kindness
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One day I took an auto-rickshaw from Karvenagar Pune to Sangamwadi. The auto driver was an old Sikh and he agreed to charge by meter for the ride so I was ecstatic as now days very few people charge by meter in Pune.
As we reached Half way the driver started trembling and crying, I asked him what happened.
He told me his story and a story it was.
He came from a farming background from Punjab, his father had passed away when he was very young and he was eldest in the family of 3 brothers.
He started working as a day labourer in Pune and sold his farms in Punjab to fund the education of his brothers.
20 years fast forward, 1 of his brothers is a CA and the other one is an Engineer, both working for multinational companies. The sad part is both of them do not talk to him anymore.
He told me that 1 week ago his wife met with an accident and she is hospitalized. He approached both his brothers for help but both of them did not entertain him and made him stand outside their office for hours.
He had borrowed Rs. 50,000 from various sources and needed 10,000 more.
I am generally not fooled by such stories and I am a very practical person, but the conviction in his voice made me realize his trouble was real. He also told me that he does not have any children and he is alive today only because of his life with his wife.
I ended up giving him 1,500 rupees instead of the 160 rupees which the meter showed.
I told him that this is not much but I hope it helps in your wife's operation.
He took my number and promised me that he will return the money as soon as his finances will allow him to.
Initially I was very moved by his story and proud of myself for doing this good deed, fast forward 30 mins I am cursing myself for being hustled by an old Auto-Rickshaw driver.
Till day before yesterday I went about my life thinking that I have become a bit wiser from this experience.