Finding Wallet & Humanity

Sometimes I thank this constant need of using plastic money. Don’t know the last time our generation used cash more than the cards. It helps when your carelessness takes over, the least you want is random loss of money.

One of these days, as I fished for my debit card, I realized my wallet wasn’t to be found. I tried hard but couldn’t locate it. The mini heart attack began to snowball. I quickly thought of the items that were inside the wallet. Thankfully, there wasn’t much cash. Times when I really thank the man who introduced the concept of virtual cash, you know.

But more than thanking the ideator of cash cards, I was hoping to thank that one man who could reunite me with my wallet. This is the time when you leverage all your broken/fixed memory towards finding this one most important thing in the entire universe.

I did that too but in vain. I called up the cabbie who dropped me last to know if he discovered something unfamiliar at the passenger seat. “No, ma’am, I checked the entire car, couldn’t find anything…” Dear!! I sulked.

In such troubled times, what is hard to miss is the conversations at home that lead and end at the lost property. I kind of not like it! I mean, something, without having given a notice, occupy the entire mind bandwidth and makes you yearn for it like never before.

As days passed, I finally decided to file for new identity cards. The lost wallet had all of the necessary ids – my pan card, driving licence, debit cards, aadhar card, my car’s registration certificate etc. Somehow I kept procrastinating on applying for new ones. In fact, I did try to take up an almost challenge to figure the tedious procedure online. And well, as easy it may sound, getting back all the crucial identity cards, even via online processes, isn’t a cakewalk. I knew I was in for another unexpected cannot-be-ignored task. Sigh!

So, the procrastination ruled until this one fine morning I woke up to several missed calls from unknown numbers. I was taken aback a little. I knew there was something important out there. I started to call back on the numbers one by one. All the calls were picked up by people who told me about this one guy who was trying to reach me through their numbers and they also mentioned about one common thing – my wallet. Yup! This guy, who was trying to reach me, had found my wallet.

I didn’t believe it at once. I mean, wouldn’t you find it weird if someone is trying to return your stuff as desperately as this guy?

I started to cross-question all of them and they informed me that this guy is an auto driver and found my wallet in his auto. I was startled. I never took an auto the day I lost my wallet. It was a cab that I had taken. Then how did my wallet reach in his auto?

I was quite curious by this time and am sure so are you as you read.

I decided to collect my wallet from this auto driver. He called me to an auto stand in Dwarka. I had not known of this auto stand before. It took me some time to find it while I simultaneously made calls to figure this guy’s location and finally reached.

I saw not one but three auto drivers coming my way. By now, the apprehensions were only rising. One of them handed over my wallet and asked me to check the stuff in it. The stuff in my wallet was disarranged. Someone had taken a full stock of it. But thankfully, every important document was safe. However, by now I was more interested in knowing the wallet story, how they got my number and why three of these auto drivers approached me than celebrating the lost-and-found moment. “May be they all want money”, thoughts began to surface.

So, this auto driver had found my wallet in his auto a day before. This is a week after I lost it actually. He was a young lad, newbie in the profession and decided to share the incident with his fellow seniors. The other two men who came along with him to hand over the wallet were his confidantes. He was scared of being called a thief but the other two auto drivers encouraged him for the good deed. They figured my visiting card in the wallet and asked him to give me a call the next morning. (Luck shone on me that day, I never keep my biz card in wallet)

“Madamji, apka number nahi bhi hota na toh hum apke driving licence ke address par apka wallet dene aate…” (We would have handed over the wallet to you at your address even if we hadn’t found your phone number.)

I was in disbelief. Was this for real? I was at loss of words, really.

I could imagine someone picking up the wallet from where I lost, took out whatever cash was in it and realized it’s of no use to him and left it in this guy’s auto. Amazing! The variety of humans that walk this planet leave me speechless. While this thief sought his own interest, the young auto driver slept over it to only make countless calls to me in the morning just so that he could make a difference.

The money I gave three of them against their goodness was just a small token and a tiny piece of what I felt that day. I have always said and had an undeterred belief that the evil cannot withstand for long, there’s good waiting to overpower it. Of all the days I have seen this belief shaping up into real incidents, this was another such addition in that delightful list.

It’s been a while this incident happened. I told them I will make them famous : ) and I did save their names in my phone for this blog but unfortunately forgotten as I write it down.

But as I come to think of it, I may have forgotten their names but will I ever forget them or their act of humanity… : )

This Black & White Pic Represents The Thought – We All Are One & Connected.