Kindness of Strangers

When I travelled across the breadth and length of the country, I have experienced the love of many strangers for whom I am deeply grateful. They have made a deep impression not only in my travel but also on my outlook about life. The North east India hospitality has been the crowning glory of this lot even when not including our host Rinchin uncles’ hospitality.

There was never once in our trip, when we asked for a way to go somewhere, people just told us where it is, they almost always ensured we got there. Once I was inquiring about restaurant for us to have breakfast, the little boy not only came with us all the way to the restaurant, but made us sit, called the owner and asked him to attend to us and left. Even a police man on duty, came in his cycle and ensured we took the correct turn to our destination. For someone with as bad as geo skills as mine, it was sure more than helpful.



We were travelling from Guwahati to Tezpur in a local bus and a few hours into the journey the bus halted in a bus stop and many alighted. Clueless to where we were, we inquired the conductor about the place and how much more time it may take for us to reach Tezpur. The conductor told us it’s an hour halt and so we may get delayed. Saying so, he picked our backpacks (a 65 L and 45L backpack) and asked us to follow him. He boarded on to another bus, put our backpacks in the luggage area, asked two guys sitting in the front seats to vacate it for us, called the conductor and even bought tickets for us to Tezpur and told the conductor to take care of us. As soon as the bus reached Tezpur, the new conductor again picked our backpacks and got down for the bus, we dutifully followed him. He got hold of a rickshaw puller deposited our bags in the rickshaw and told the rickshaw guy to take us to our hotel.

When we got to the hotel I had been counting on (but didn’t book, lazy me:P) was full for budget rooms but had AC rooms which were costlier than our initial plan. The Hotelier didn’t try to persuade us to take the costlier rooms; he simply referred us to another budget hotel a little further ahead, which he thought was good and safe enough for women travelers like us.  After checking in to the hotel, we rushed to book for the early morning cab service to Tawang. In spite of being the last people to book, just a simple request got us the much coveted front seats in the Sumo.

After an eventful journey in Tawang, we had to travel to Demaji from Tezpur, a 6 hour journey and inquired about the same at the bus stand ticket counter. The ticket issuing person suggested it would be very untime for us to travel in the night and suggested we stay in Tezpur for the day and get the early morning bus. He asked us to wait and brought another man whom he introduced as the person who will be in the ticket counter the next day. The new guy gave us his number and suggested we come 30 – 45 mins before to get the tickets. The next day morning despite our best efforts we were late as usual when we got to the bus stand and the ticketing guy whom we met yesterday immediately recognized us and told us that he was waiting for us and asked us to come inside the office instead of standing in the queue. He also had exact change ready for us even before we handed over the money and had reserved the front seat tickets for us. He asked us to have tea and wait near the bus until he finishes issuing ticket. After some time he came and helped us deposit our luggage and ensured we sit in the front seat, which is safest for women travelling alone.

What a contrast it is to the many auto and taxi walas who dot the railway station who lose no opportunity to con the new comers to the city.

Most times we didn’t even get to ask their names. None of them expected anything in kind for their kindness. The innumerable invisible helping hands and the hearts of gold that helped two lone women travelers cruise through a holiday in a destination where they neither spoke local language nor had any friends of their own was indeed overwhelming.

The true meaning of ‘Adhithi Devo Bhava’ (Visitor is God) reflected in their attitude in which they greeted us. The God was not we the adhithis but the localities themselves for having shown such kindness to us.