On a rainy day 20 years ago, I was late for class. At the traffic light, the rear view mirror of a sedan was in my way. Not wanting my rusty pre-owned bike to hurt the glimmering ‘sun-roofed’ beauty, I waited. Sensing my urgency, the man behind the wheel folded the mirror with just the press of a button. Then the light turned green and we went our separate ways.
I was still late for class.
Recently, a Zomato delivery boy was faced with the same predicament. And just like the last time, the man behind the wheel only had to press a button. Now who was this man this time?
Me.
I pressed the button. The mirror folded. And I watched the boy fade out of view even before I could hit the gas pedal. I just hope the boy knows that his life is of far greater value than his speed. Honestly, when I was his age I didn't.
The boy stayed on my mind even after I got home that day. So I opened the Zomato app just like that. And that's when I realized I hadn’t submitted the ‘Delivery Service Feedback’ for my last order. Under 'Order History' I saw the image of the Mutton Turki Kebab that my mother and I had enjoyed just the previous night. It was raining very heavily and the delivery was late. But here’s the feedback I submitted:
“On time. No hassles.”
Why did I not raise a flag or at the very least submit a poor rating? Because Zomato provides a bio for each of their delivery boys. And here’s the one I had just read:
“Bibek Debbarma is from Agartala, Tripura. He can speak English, Hindi, Bengali, and Kokborok... and dreams of owning a car someday.” ~ Tirthankar Poddar