Not all superheroes wear capes. For Mumbai resident Rameez Shaikh, he came driving an auto and did something simple but extraordinary to win his heart.
In a Facebook post shared on August 26, Mr Shaikh describes the heartwarming experience he had when he hailed an auto rickshaw to go for the Friday prayer at a mosque. “As soon as I sat in the auto I realised that I had forgotten my wallet in my office in the rush,” he says on Facebook. His post is now going viral, with almost 8000 shares and counting.

So he asked the auto driver to wait for him until he finished his prayers and take him back to office to pick up the wallet. He also offered to pay him for waiting. What happened next will help restore your faith in humanity.

“The auto guy (who was pasting a ‘Ganpati Utsav’ sticker on his windshield as I entered in his auto) told me: ‘Aap bhagwan ke kaam ke liye jaa rahe ho, aap tension matt le… mai chhodd deta hu aap ko… lekin mai wait nahi kar paaugaa… mujhe aagey jaanaa hoga,'” Mr Shaikh says on Facebook.

But that’s not all. Once he dropped his passenger at the mosque, the auto driver, later identified as Shukla ji, did something even nicer. He offered Mr Shaikh some cash so he wouldn’t face difficulty on his way back to the office. “Since he could not wait for me, he wanted to ensure that I get back to my work place conveniently. He was very sincerely telling me not to feel embarrassed for that,” Mr Shaikh says on Facebook.

“Could be a stereotype breaker for some… An ‘Auto-wala,’ ‘Ganpati bhakt’ with ‘Large red tilak on forehead’ going out of his way to make sure that a fellow human of another faith gets to pray to his deity with all the peace,” concludes Mr Shaikh.

There’s an update to the post, describing what happened when he met Shukla ji to pay him the fare owed.

We’ll let you read the post in its entirety to know more. This is one story that will put a smile on your face.

Read Shaikh’s Facebook post:

26/Aug/2016, 1:40pm: I hurriedly went down from office to catch an auto-rickshaw to reach Masjid for the Friday congregational prayer (“Namaaz-e-Jumma’h”). As soon as I sat in the auto I realised that I had forgotten my wallet in my office in the rush. I requested the auto guy to drop me at the Masjid and wait till I pray (for 15-20 minutes) and drop me back; and that I will pay him more than the fare.

The auto guy (who was pasting a “Ganpati Utsav” sticker on his windshield as I entered in his auto) told me: “Aap bhagwan ke kaam ke liye jaa rahe ho, aap tension matt le… mai chhodd deta hu aap ko… lekin mai wait nahi kar paaugaa… mujhe aagey jaanaa hoga..”

I thanked him for that and sat in his auto (as otherwise I would have missed my prayers).

Now as he dropped me at the Masjid he did something which I never expected. He got cash out of his pocket and offered me so that I can get back to my work place after finishing the prayers. Since he could not wait for me, he wanted to ensure that I get back to my work place conveniently. He was very sincerely telling me not to feel embarrassed for that…

I could not thank him anymore…

Meet Shukla ji (the man in the picture inserted)… Could be a stereotype breaker for some… An “Autowala” “Ganpati bhakt” with “Large red tilak on forehead” going out of his way to make sure that a fellow human of another faith gets to pray his Deity with all the peace….

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EDIT (28/Aug/2016, 6PM: Happy to see that my post has touched so many hearts. It has reached thousands of individual through sharing, resharing and through other forums / pages. The aggregate estimated likes must have crossed over a lakh within 2 days…

To clarify, many people were concerned why I took his money for the return journey (as I could have paid any other auto guy after reaching office); and whether I repaid him at all?” 😀
=> Actually in the post I just wanted to highlight Shukla ji’s gesture of offering money and that too with such earnestness -> by telling me not to feel embarrassed in taking the amount…
Though ultimately I didn’t take the cash he offered. Yes, I noted his mobile number and paid him his fare later in that same evening (before making the original post on FB). Though he never intended or asked for the money.

Another interesting thing is that when I called him to pay, he modestly underplayed the whole incident as if nothing great had happened. I insisted, went over to him and paid him his fare. He made me look like I did a great job paying him back 🙂 Still I didn’t feel I “repaid” his gesture. That’s why I made the FB post.

I don’t think he has a smartphone and I am planning to gift him print-outs of few comments and messages that people have been making for him.

PS 1: I have been getting multitudes of friendship request. Sorry I cannot accept all. 🙂 Shukla ji is the hero not me… Lol 😀 Also that I got married recently 😉 Haha 😀 😀

PS 2: I feel we should all come out and share the positivities we experience on social media. There’s too much hatred out here. The reason for hatred is not that only negativity prevails… but that easily only negativity sells… So unless “We” the people buy it positivity is not gonna sell.

So lets take some time out of our busy lives and share / sell the positivities around…