Honesty of a rare kind
On 8 July 2009 I wanted to draw my pension. I took my pension book, cheque for the amount of money, and the deposit book in a large white envelope. Got out of home and hired a baby taxi to go to the bank.
After a short journey via the Bijoy Sharani, Manik Mia Avenue and Shangshad Bhaban the baby taxi reached my bank at Lalmatia. I alighted from it and began climbing the staircase of the two-storied building of the bank. Suddenly, I found that I did not take along my envelope while getting down from the taxi.
Immediately, I returned to the spot but I did not see my baby taxi. I walked around from this side to that side of the footpath and waited for about an hour but all in vain. The baby taxi never returned.
I was just unnerved thinking of the complications that I would have to face in future to obtain another pension book for me.
Disappointed, I went to the manager of the bank and explained the disaster that fell upon me. The manager also was unhappy with the incident and said “ Sir, missing of the pension book means you have lot of problems ahead. Give me an application I will block your account number so that nobody can present your lost cheque and draw money from there.” I did it. And I went to the Mohammadpur Thana and did a GD entry as I knew that it would be primarily necessary to apply for a new pension book. All these I did frantically one after another with great agony. A fear of an enormous trouble engulfed me.
At about 3:00pm while coming back home by an auto rickshaw my tension mounted and I started feeling a sense of trauma.
I reached the gate of my residence and saw the baby taxiwala stepping down the staircase with the white envelope in his hand. It was an unbelievable surprise for me. I just looked at the face of the man and could not talk for a few seconds. The moment he saw me he looked at me with a big smile. I saw his eyes were glittering and reflected a light of satisfaction. He said, “ Sir, I went to the first floor and asked about you by your name. They don't know you. I showed your photo from this book to the shop keeper there. He said you are living in this building.
“When they said they did not know you I was going to the other buildings to look for you. I thought if I cannot find you here I will go to the bank, where you had dropped, and leave these documents with the manager.”
I was just looking at him with astonishment while he was talking.
Further he said, "Sir, see if all your papers are here. Here is your cheque.
I could understand that this is your pension book.”
“I saw the envelope on the seat at Mirpur. I saw your address in the book. So I drove from there to give it to you."
I just embraced him with my eyes soaked in a joy of gratitude.
His honesty is exemplary.
He realised the importance of the loss of a pension book. He certainly felt that the passenger was a pension holder and he would be in great trouble if it was lost. His inner mind forced him to drive back from Mirpur to my house at Nakhalpara. And it is a rare drive. I am very grateful to him.
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