A stranger's kindness comes through just when required

My sister, her kids and her friend had planned an exciting holiday to Dubai. All preparations were done methodically – she’s good at that – and they landed at Sahar airport at the prescribed 3 hours before the flight. However, an unexpected turn of events was in store – the immigration authorities saw the print-out of the Dubai visa taken online and said that it was not clear enough and that they would not accept it – they needed a better print out.

But being a Sunday, all cyber-cafe facilities at the airport were shut. They were stuck in a royal mess! Desperate for help, she called me from the airport and explained the situation. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for me to take a print out and reach the airport in time. I looked up the web to search for cybercafes near the airport.

The first listing was:

Shop No.1, B.N.Pandey Chawl, P & T Colony, Atlanta Tower, Sahar Airport Road, Vile Parle East, Mumbai – 400099

Phone:+(91)-(22)-28300072

I called the number provided and it was answered by a young boy named Vikas. I explained the situation to him. He said that he was alone at the shop but there were no customers – and he could walk to the airport in about 10 minutes. I asked my sister to email the visa to him from her phone, and Vikas took the print out and went to the airport to hand it to them just in time for them to make it to the flight.

But to top it all, he refused to accept any money beyond the normal Rs. 20/- that he charges for the print-out of two pages!

Vikas made my day today, and saved an entire holiday of my sister’s, her kids’ and her friend’s – in one gesture of kindness.