I was about 16 years old, and my father said I had to visit my sister’s house in a remote village in Tanjore District of TamilNadu to hand over some very important materials to her. Unlike today, where we can plan a trip through a click of a button, I embarked on this bus trip with just sheer enthusiasm and little planning. It was close to 10pm when I got down from the bus at a small town called Thirukattupalli, thinking I will be able to catch some mode of transport to my sister’s house. When I enquired, I realized that (1) It was almost 5 kms to her house, and (2) Post 10pm there was no mode of transport there. Thinking what I should do next, I saw a grim faced man who looked a bit scary with torn and tattered clothes. Out of no choice, I enquired with him and began walking in the direction of my sister’s home, based on the direction given by him. It was quite scary to walk in a dark road with no street lights and no human being visible to the eye. There were trees and farm lands all around and only me walking as quickly as possible, chanting some prayers to help forget the fear within.

Walking as fast as I could, I heard someone calling me and I heard footsteps behind me. I did not want to turn around, and I started walking even faster. But after a while, I heard the voice even closer, and turned around. It was the same grim faced man trying to guide me in the correct way to my sister’s house. His village was 2 kms before my sister’s village, but he saw I was scared and hence had followed me to provide directions. This incident changed my perception about people and I decided never to judge people from their external appearance. This lesson has stayed me since and I use this often to even teach my children.