GUJARATI BRAHMIN TEACHES ME TO BE KIND

A GUJARATI BRAHMIN TEACHES ME TO BE KIND

Some time ago I wrote about helping a college girl at Kolkata airport to pay for her luggage, without being asked, and without even knowing who she was. It did not occur to me then how I might have learned to do this. Well, maybe I learned it from a Gujarati Brahmin in Lagos, Nigeria, 31 years ago!

The first time I went abroad was in 1985 – to Bamako in Mali (West Africa). We had no direct flights from India to Bamako. Air India had no flights at all to Bamako. It flew to Nigeria, but not every day. I bought a ticket through Air India from Bombay to Lagos. I was told that I would have to stay two days in Lagos to fly with another company to Bamako; but Air India would provide me free food and accommodation only for 24 hours!

I landed in Lagos and I waited in queue before the Air India counter to be taken to the hotel. An elderly gentleman approached me. The conversation was rather long, but here is the summary of it.

He: “Sir, are you going to Bombay? I have this envelope of documents. Please check; see, they are all only papers – land documents. I trust you. I would like you to take these with you. My family will come to the airport and take it from you. It is really urgent. They need them tomorrow.”

Me : “I am sorry, Sir. I am not going to Bombay. I just arrived from there. But … you trusted me. You wanted me to help you. I can’t help you. But … can You help me?”

He: “Sure. What’s the problem?

Me: “Sir, my flight to Bamako is only the day after tomorrow. Air India will provide me accommodation only for one day. Tomorrow onwards I have to pay for my stay. You know that our government allows us to buy only 200 dollars in all. My programme has to take me from Mali to Ivory Coast to France and Italy. I am just at the start of my journey and all I have is 200 dollars. Could you provide me accommodation?”

He: “Sure. Air India will give you five-star food and lodging for today. Enjoy it. Tomorrow, at 9.00 am come down to the lobby and I will pick you up.”

AND OFF HE WENT !!! He gave me no phone number, no name, no address. I said to myself, “The cunning crook! I will never see his face again!”

Believe it or not, the next morning at 9.00 he was at the hotel. He took me to his palatial home. As it turned out, I stayed not one day with him but THREE, due an air-crash. He did not just give me food and lodging; he went to extreme lengths to look after me till, three days later, I was safely on the flight to Bamako.

I need to write at least two more pages to cover the entire story for you to understand the extreme kindness and generosity of this man. I will write the story in full if this short piece seems to interest you!

But, here is the key to the title I put above : This gentleman was a Brahmin from Gujarat; he knew I was a Catholic Priest, a Salesian of Don Bosco; he made sure that I never got his name, address or telephone number. He made sure that I would NOT be able to thank him in any way for the help he gave me. Was THAT the unconscious reason for the automatic response from me to the college girl who had no money to pay for her luggage from Kolkata to Bangalore?