Coolie Number 1

Several years ago, my colleague and his wife went to Mumbai , to attend a wedding. They were carrying three bags filled with valuables like sarees, silver and gold jewellery. This was apart from the Rs 125,000 they had in cash.

At Mumbai Central station, they hired a coolie. As usual, he picked up the luggage and started weaving his way through the crowd. They began following him, but the crowd proved to be too thick, and soon lost him.

Afraid, they quickly walked away from the crowd and out of the station - but there was no coolie waiting for them out there. Crestfallen, they filed a complaint with Mumbai Central’s railway police station.

The very next morning, the railway police called them up and they were back at the station to meet the concerned police officer. He gave them the three bags, and to my friend`s relief, the contents were intact.

Enquires about the coolie led them to the Sion hospital. When they saw him, both his hands were badly injured and bandaged. On questioning, him, he tearfully told that he had been waiting for my friend when two goons spied him. Finding him an easy prey, they beat him up and ran away with the bags.

He ran behind them, and though he managed to secure the luggage again, his hands were badly injured in the process. Other coolies found him and got him admitted to the hospital, but not before he had requested another coolie to deposit the bags with the railway police station.

My friend thanked him not only for securing the bags but also for showing such bravery. The hospitalisation bills were paid by my friend. In addition, my friend even offered him a token of Rs 5,000, but this the coolie refused to accept saying that he had only been performing his duty honestly. He asked only for his Rs 15 as coolie charges to be paid.