March 5. “Button, remember me telling you some time back how positive thinking is therapeutic?”

“Yes, I remember. But what about it?”

“Most times we think that we are surrounded by scoundrels, thieves and rogues and that every single person we meet is waiting to take us for a ride! That’s not quite right and I’ll tell you of an incident to support that.”

“Bolo.”

“As you are well aware, I have been going to the Colaba Sahakari Bhandar to pick up my provisions for each month since the last 30 years ever since the family moved to Mumbai (Bombay in those days). My cell phone rang this morning and, even though it was an unfamiliar number, I took the call and found out that the caller’s name was Tatkare and that he was calling from the Colaba Sahakari Bhandar..”

“And?”

“My ears perked up when he said he was calling from Sahakari Bhandar as I couldn’t quite figure out why somebody would call me from a place where I shopped for monthly provisions for the home and I got a little curious.”

“And?”

“He announced himself once again and told me that the cashier at the counter had made an error by insisting that I had paid Rs 1500 in denominations of Rs 500 (that was three Rs 500 notes) and not four Rs 500 notes. I had argued with him insisting that I had paid four crisp Rs 500 notes and he had insisted that I had paid him three. I finally gave up and paid him the extra Rs 500. Tatkare told me that he was calling to inform me that I had actually paid the man Rs 2000 and that it had been a slip-up on his part. He also told me that I could collect Rs 500 from the cashier at my convenience!”

“Amazing.”

“It’s amazing because the man could have waited to tell me this when I went back next month to shop for my monthly provisions but had actually made an attempt to call me to tell me about the error their cashier had made.”

“I believe there are more good people around than I would like to believe.”