Sometimes, all it takes is a single act of kindness from a stranger to brighten our day and reaffirm our faith in humanity. We’ve all experienced moments where an unexpected gesture from someone we’ve never met before has provided comfort or helped us overcome a challenge. A recent thread on X has captured the hearts of many, as a user shared her uplifting experience with kind strangers during a recent visit to Mumbai. The post has inspired others to share similar stories, showcasing the city’s warm and welcoming spirit.
X user @yappy_hour shared how a chance encounter on a train to Mumbai transformed her travel experience. A friendly local girl turned into her “unofficial tour guide” when she discovered she had an eight-hour layover before her flight. “She’s showing me where to street shop, booking local train tix for me like I didn’t just meet her 2 hours ago,” the user wrote.
”Then this other girl saw that I was lost in the Mumbai local & didn’t know when Andheri station was coming. so she offered to not only tell me when to get down from the local but also helped me book a metro tix to get from Andheri train stn to the airport road and dropped me off at the metro platform,” she added.
Confused about how to reach the airport just two kilometres away, another kind stranger swooped in to help. “This uncle saw U was lost, bargained with the auto driver to take me to the airport for Rs 40 instead of Rs 150, came with me to the airport and even bought me coffee because he wanted someone to celebrate the fact that his son finally called him after eight years,” the post further said.
Read the full post here:
people in mumbai are like… the nicest strangers i’ve ever met
— yappy hour (@yappy_hour) October 2, 2024
Her story sparked a chain reaction, inspiring others to share similar tales of Mumbaikars’ warmth and hospitality. Several people shared how strangers offered them directions, shelter and even free food.
One user said, ”Middle-class Mumbai lives a life of struggle hence every stranger we come across makes us want to offer solace and hence most of us go out of our way, to give directions, to offer to pay for a bus ticket, or any such small gesture. Mumbai has changed a lot though and it’s sad.”
Another user shared a similar story. He wrote, ”Decades ago, I lost my wallet while getting on a local train from Andheri and thought it was a case of pickpocketing. Was a student then so it was pretty distressing. Got a call from a man the same day who found it, he came to my place the next day and handed it over to me.”
A third person said, ”Agreed. Back in 2018. The phone had no battery. New to the city & raining. Dependent on Uber and Google Maps. The stranger gives me his power bank. Tells me that I trust, u will be here when I am back in 20 minutes. Came back, and I said thanks. He said don’t worry. Will never forget.”
A fourth added, ”This was true even 22 years back when I was learning to navigate the local train and stations. I had come from Delhi and had people walk for a couple of minutes to show me the local counter. In Delhi, the answer to every query on direction used to be ‘aage se right’.”