When the humbleness of Goans proved "Atithi Devo Bhava"!

They were scared about meeting strangers in an unknown state like Goa, but the humbleness of Goans made the Surat family's trip to the place - a forever memorable anecdote they like to narrate to everyone.

It was around Christmas in 2016 when Simran Jain and her family, including her mother and father, decided to visit Goa, a place near to paradise during that time! Even though the family knew that the prices would have been high because of the peak season, they decided to visit Goa. Their biggest fear was to find helpful people, like any other Indian family, before going on a trip. Hardly did they know that the humbleness of Goans on their three-day trip would replace their fear with gratitude, and it would become the most memorable trip for them!

As the family reached a cottage in Margaon where they were going to stay, they met the owner of the property, Mr. Joseph. He was a professor in England who had come back to Goa after 30 years. Joseph was liked by the staff of his workplace and did not want him to leave the country to go back to India. His family was still in England, but he came back. "He was very helpful to everyone and was inspiring. I had never met someone like him before," Simran remembers her conversation with him.

When Simran's family decided to return to Surat a day before it was decided for some reasons, Mr. Joseph, unlike other owners, did not even keep the money for the time not spent by the family in his cottage. "We insisted him to keep the money because that is paid in advance and is non-refundable. But he was reluctant to keep it. It was one of the nice gestures of him that I can never forget," Simran adds.

They met the tourist guide, who made sure Simran's family did not face any problems. He kept on assisting the family about the safe routes and ways to various places, to which Simran says that she and her family felt blessed to have such a companion throughout their trip.

That dinner

On the day of their return, after bidding goodbye to Mr. Joseph, the family took a rickshaw to the railway station. And, here, they met another helping hand who was none other than the Vice President of rickshaw union in Goa. It was still time for the train to come, and the family was hungry as they did not have dinner in the cottage. It was late, and the vegetarian family had lost hope to come across in Vegetarian restaurant in Goa, that too, at the time of Christmas.

The Union's Vice President took on himself to make sure the family ate before leaving Goa and started searching for vegetarian eateries. To their fortune, he found one eatery and stopped the rickshaw, but the place was about to shut. Then, without wasting a single second, he went on to request the restaurant owner to let the family eat, and after some time, the owner agreed! "It was only because of him that we could eat that day, and we can never be thankful enough to him for this," Simran says.

Even though more than four years have passed since the trip, the family gets excited to talk about the place, where all they got was love and affection from the Goans. "That trip made us accept that the world exists on humanity, and it is still alive among people in India".

Also Read: A Monsoon Affair: A sneak peek at monsoons in Goa through the eyes of Goans

For more such stories follow Local Samosa on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram.