My colleagues and I've been working on a pretty ambitious project at our lab for last few months. We were all set to do the field testing at our customer location after completing most of the development effort at the lab. We decided to take an auto rickshaw to carry our equipments and our laptops. The previous evening we had transported and installed other bulky stuff associated to the project. When we went to the auto stand none of the auto drivers were interested to come to the destination we wanted to go. I must tell you that in Bangalore getting an auto which takes you to the place you want to go is not an easy thing. These auto drivers are not just choosy but sometimes they charge extra money depending on the location. Compared to previous instances when we went by auto, this time we were luckily to find an auto in little less time and he was ready to take us to our destination at the actual cost.
The driver maneuvered his auto in such a way that the meter reading indicated little lesser count compared to my previous visits to the location and I also felt that he took little less time. When I paid him I didn't quite demand the five rupee change which he was suppose to give me back as I could sense that he would have struggled to find the change and also because I thought he was worthy of tip, in appreciation for the neat service. Anyway before splitting I thanked him by gesturing a hand salute, which is my standard practice when ever I get a good or not so bad service from somebody.
A few minutes after getting into the premises of our customer location I realized that I forgot to take the bag that we had kept behind the seat in that auto rickshaw, which had some equipments related to the project that we were undertaking. I quickly ran towards the gate to check for the auto and searched around. He wasn't around. I checked with other auto drivers there, they said that he left a minute ago. I went around looking for him with some hope of finding him, especially did an extensive search near a near-by temple. After looking around for more than half an hour I requested the security at the customer location to inform me if they ever come across any auto driver in look out to return a "black colour Adidas bag" filled with engineering equipments and electric gadgets. At first I was little apprehensive about the immediate consequence of losing that bag but after having a detailed discussion with my two colleagues I decided to procure the necessary components required for the project execution immediately. I did think that there was a possibility of getting back the bag but then I knew it was a sparse chance. I inferred the loss was at least worth five thousand (thankfully). I was also relived of the fact that the bag didn't contain components that we had imported from the US. And I did shop that evening.
After careful investigation I figured that we had lost lot more than we thought yet I could somehow move on from that incedent. We were back in project execution mode the next day. In midst of my work I got a call from an unknown number who spoke in local language (Kannada). Here is the rough translation of the conversation:
Me: Hello?
Unknown: Who is the person that I'm speaking to?
Me: I presume you should know as you are the one who has called.
Unknown: Actually I wish to know your identity before going ahead with the conversation.
(I was pissed-off after listening to his words. Many times I cut the call if I think it is a wrong number but this time I did't, instead tried to ridicule him for testing my patience when I was in the middle of some important work)
Me: Who ever you are, I hope you didn't type some arbitrary number on your phone to check if your mobile works fine for the numbers that you haven't stored - or you just like having fun in killing other people's valuable time!
Unknown: I have a bag with me and I found it in my auto rickshaw.
(Oh that was utterly shocking and I was embarrassed at the same time for the reproachful remark I had made)
Me: I'm really sorry Sir. Thank you, thank you for calling me. I can't say how happy I'm talking to you. Please tell me how I can collect that bag from you.
We discussed about the logistics of him returning that bag and as you could infer, that I was very happy for the fact he considered returning it back. He informed me that he found my company's rubber stamp in the bag which had my mobile number at the bottom of the seal. I knew that we had lost the company's rubber stamp as well in the bag and also thought that there was a chance but to be honest I didn't quite believe that it could work out this way. He also told me that he went around an apartment thinking that a person from there could have left it. He told me that he saw it much later in the day hence didn't think it was ours. I appreciated his efforts. I was all set to collect my bag near my place the next day, which was yesterday.
I got up little late yesterday and the first thing I did was calling that auto driver. He told me that he will come near my place in twenty minutes. I decided to pay him at least the money he spent for coming to my place from where he was and also for doing some search in returning the bag. I with drew four hundred rupees from the ATM and then met him near the auto stand. I again thanked him and also invited him to have a cup of coffee with me at my place or in some restaurant. He wasn't keen in having coffee or tea. He started explaining me the places he went to return my bag. He described his failed attempts in going around the place with details and what all he tried to do in ensuring the owner gets the bag. They seemed genuine. I finally asked him the money that I should pay in order to compensate for all the loses he had incurred. He looked at my face and told me to pay eight hundred rupees. I was surprised as it was certainly on the higher side of my expectation, though I must say that I would paid him even more if he had demanded. I requested him to take me to the nearest ATM so that I could with draw some more money to pay him. He went on to tell his family problems and about the money that he had to spend for his children's education and few other things till we reached the ATM. I gave him the money and also collected that bag. He insisted on checking the bag before he left but I didn't wish to do so.
When I entered the lab with the bag in my hand I had a big smile on my face as though I achieved something in life. I gave the bag to one of my colleagues who had loaded the equipments the other day. I told all my three colleagues about the auto driver and the things that happened in detail. I didn't initially tell them that he demanded eight hundred rupees as I wanted every one to appreciate his actions full-heartedly though I wasn't myself somehow fully convinced that he returned the bag with genuine interest. After checking the bag my colleague told me that some tools and some water pipe accessories were missing. In fact those were the only stuff that was in someway useful to normal people as rest of the stuff in the bag was no way useful (very project related stuff). The missing stuff weren't expensive. My two other colleagues started discussing the matter. At that time I seriously started doubting that auto drives intentions behind returning that bag to me, however for some unknown reason (that I have to figure out with myself) I didn't want them to think in those lines, hence I commented "Guys, there is no end to judging people..."
