I'm going to tell you about a thing that happened to me two days ago. I'm Twenty Three years old and I'm a working woman.

Two days ago, I was in chennai to attend an interview for a software company. The address given in the call letter said it was in Ernakulam but didn't provide any landmark associated with it. I was supposed to report there by 9 AM. I was staying in IIT, Madras hostel for the day with a friend. Neither of us had good knowledge of chennai city or Tamil. I gathered from her friends
that Ernakulam is fifteen minutes away from Guindy and Guindy is 30 min away from the institute.

I started from the hostel at 7 AM after light breakfast. I reached Guindy in fifty minutes by
bus.It was a sunday morning and traffic was light. I waited there in the bus-stop, asking each
and every passing bus driver if the bus goes to Ernakulam. I called the company but there was no answer. Probably it was too early for any one to be in office.

My father is a safety officer. Fire safety drills, helmets, knee pads, road maps, emergency call
numbers made our dining table talk. According to him taking an Auto Rickshaw for hire in an
unknown city was like ignoring a skull and bones sign in a nuclear plant. Though I mastered to
ignore all my father's teachings all through my life, Auto rickshaw episodes were an exception. I
always try to use the public transport system. It also gave me a feeling of being independent.
I hire an Auto only if I'm travelling with my friends.In my experience I found that the
Auto-wallahs in hyderabad(my home town) had good knowledge of the city and can reach the
destination with only a hint. Fifteen minutes passed. I saw that it was my only option. So I
walked to the middle of the road and waved at an Auto. I read out the address to the driver in my best voice. He mumbled something incomprehensible and left.

Just then, a man came up to me. He was a young man, probably twenty five or less. He said to me, "Excuse me. I see that you are a little nervous and perhaps looking for an address.." pointing to the scrap of paper in my hand. He had a light moustache and a dark face.

I looked suspiciously at him. He gave a little laugh and said " I think you need a small favour.
And I'm well acquainted with this city." He was polite. He was well-spoken. He had a strong
American accent. I asumed he works at a call center. "The thing is, I need to attend this
interview and I.." I heard myself saying. He gave a gentle smile, took the scrap into his hands
and hailed a seven-seater. He told me on the way that he is a waiter at a hotel in ernakulam
which coincidentally is near this company, and is presently heading for work. In my panic, I
didn't analyze any of the things he said.

We stopped at a corner near a hotel, I could see a sign board of the company. Its a ten minute
walk from the corner. I made it in good time. I paid his fare. He didn't reach for his wallet.I
thanked him. He pointed to the hotel and said " I should be going". I saw him go into the hotel
and then started in the company's direction. when I looked back, I saw him walking to the
opposite side of the road and get into a seven-seater going in the direction we came from.
He told his name was samir.

Later, I found out that there is no waiter at the hotel with that name. I can't swear that his
name is samir but he is samir- The Good samaritan like in my "Children's Tales" book.

Seven-seater -- Auto with seating capability of seven. In some Indian cities, it is used like a bus.