The Best Investment I Ever Made

A Simple Ride

This story begins the day I moved to Panvel. I had just shifted all my stuff and had to immediately return to Karjat with my family for a pooja the next day. After an hour of relying on apps and finding nothing, we decided to head out onto the road and hope to find someone who could take us home.

That’s exactly what happened. Within four minutes, we found an auto. The driver was reliable, so I saved his number for future trips.

A week later, I had to go to Karjat again for some work. It was daytime, I called the same uncle. He dropped me off on time. We had a light conversation. Nothing special. I called him once more later that week, but he had already accepted another fare, so it didn’t work out.

Since it was late, I couldn’t find another ride, and I had to cancel the trip. My mom and sister came to Panvel the next day instead. My mom cooked me a meal and we spent the day cleaning the house. Later, we went to Dmart just to buy two things and ended up with a bill of ₹6787.30. Classic Dmart behavior.

A Moment of Embarrassment

At billing, I opened GPay to scan the code and Boom, SBI server was down. Probably out for dinner break, I joked in my head. I didn’t have my wallet either, because I had left it at home.

I kept refreshing, trying not to panic, knowing there were people waiting behind us. I was almost ready to explain the situation to the Dmart staff, that I’d rush home and come back to pay.

And then, a familiar voice from behind said, “Don’t worry, I will pay.”

The Unexpected Help

Had it been Karjat, I wouldn’t have thought twice as every third face is familiar. But this was Panvel. A new place. I turned around and was surprised, it was the auto wale uncle.

I had called him earlier to pick up my mom and sister from Dmart, so they could return to Karjat. I told him it would take us about 10 minutes. He had no business coming inside the store, but there he was.

Without hesitation, he paid the bill and said, “You can pay me back when the server’s up.”

The Best Investment I ever Made

We stepped outside Dmart, I just tried, and, the payment suddenly went through in an instant. I chuckled. It felt like life had crafted this little scene just to remind me of something important.

In a world obsessed with returns, it was a powerful nudge. A reminder that the returns on kindness, trust, and human connection are unmatched.

The best investment I ever made wasn’t in things.
It was in people.