💬 Six strangers pushed a dead auto off the road and nobody said a word

Last month I was home for 12 days. Took an auto from my parents' place towards Tolichowki. Halfway down the slope below the flyover, in evening traffic, the engine just died. Buses behind us started honking in 3 different tones. The driver got out and pushed with both hands. The auto moved 2 inches. He's a thin man, maybe 50. I got out too. Before I could put my bag down, a man selling guavas dropped his basket and came over. Then 2 college boys. A traffic constable. A delivery guy with a big bag on his back. Nobody said let's go. We all leaned on it at once, like it was a stuck door. In about 40 seconds it was parked against the footpath, and the constable waved the buses through. The delivery guy is what I keep thinking about. He had an order on his phone with the timer running. He still pushed for the full 40 seconds. Then he checked the screen, said something quiet and rode off fast. The guava man picked up his basket and went back to his spot. He never even looked at me. In the US I'd have stood there with my phone out. I know I would, I've done it. The driver tried the engine 3 times. On the 3rd it started. He said, sir, you can sit now. We both laughed. I got back in. I paid him 100 rupees and he tried to give 20 back. Twenty minutes later I walked into my cousin's place with black grease on both palms. My mother asked what I'd done. I said I helped push an auto. She laughed for a full minute.

I want to believe in these moments more than I do, mostly because the one time I needed help with a flat tyre near Ameerpet, three people stopped to watch and only one bothered to help push the car to the side. Maybe it evens out over a lifetime and I just caught a slow week. Glad the auto driver in your story had better luck than me that day.

Saw something like this near Lakdikapul. A college boy found a wallet on the road with cash and an Aadhaar card. He didn't even open it properly. Walked straight into the police station across the road. I was waiting at the signal and watched the whole thing. Took him 3 minutes. Made my whole day, that did. Still thinking about it a week later.