Even though he was quite a distance away, he was gracious enough to turn back and return the phone to me
KARACHI: Last night, I was travelling in a rickshaw from the DHA area of Karachi to Clifton. The driver was an untidy man with uncombed hair and a scruffy face. I presumed that he was a drug addict, as we usually do when we see people in this type of unkempt get-up. His rickshaw, like his appearance, was also in poor condition. A few seconds after reaching my destination and leaving the rickshaw, I found that my cell phone was not in my pocket. I turned back to the rickshaw and even tried to chase after it, but it had left. I called my lost cell phone from a back-up phone. After about an hour of calling, the rickshaw driver picked up my call and said he found my phone on the floor of his rickshaw. Even though he was quite a distance away, at Gulistan-i-Jauhar, he was gracious enough to turn back and return the phone to me.
After an hour, he was at my gate. He said he had been unable to answer my calls earlier as he did not know how to operate a smartphone and had to wait until he could ask someone for help. This honest gentleman taught me several lessons that would, perhaps, be beneficial reminders to all of us. First, never judge a man by his appearance. Second, one need not be a learned man to do good in the world. We sometimes think that integrity is a rare quality in our society, but this man showed me otherwise, and has restored my trust in humanity. This event happened in Karachi, the city of street crimes and mobile snatchers, but, still, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We should never underestimate our nation. If we can find this kind of integrity even at the lowest of socioeconomic level, where ends are almost always difficult to meet, then our nation really has the potential to rise above its ailments. May we soon get out of the cycle of uncertainty and march towards progress and prosperity.
A humbled and grateful citizen
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2015.
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