Riding with a celebrity

Today morning when I left home for work, I never imagined that I will meet a person who will leave such a lasting impression on my life. As soon as I stopped a rickshaw for Andheri, Sandeep Bachhe halted in front of me what looked like an auto from outside but was a different world when you sat inside.
At that moment I had the privilege of meeting Mr.Sandeep Bachhe aka Munnabhai SSC. Once you are in the auto you can’t help but turn your head around 360 degrees and admire the way he has decorated the interiors. You will find a phone, fire extinguisher, chocolates (that’s right), paper napkins, tea (yes you heard me right), drinking water, phone, first aid kit, tab (to watch movies), newspaper, emergency phone numbers, mobile recharge and much more..You will witness people in vehicles beside you trying to get a glimpse of this three wheel wonder.
This simply shows what “out of the box” thinking means. One must love his job, take pride in it and do the things to shine and stand out of the crowd.

But the experience just doesn’t stop here. My curiosity leads me to start interviewing Mr. Sandeep Bachhe. The facts that unfolded in front of me left me speechless. Our very own Munnabhai SSC runs his independent identity by helping the poor and the needy. He collects donation for cancer patients with the help of a donation box inside the auto. He distributes breakfast and lunch for homeless kids and at orphanages. He has special discounted auto fares for handicapped and senior citizens. Many call him the bare foot rider because he stopped wearing foot wear since his mother passed away in 2004, something like that requires serious dedication.

Because of his unique style and caring culture, he has bagged quite a few prestigious awards from organisations that acknowledge his contribution to the society. He was also invited as a Speaker at TEDx which is a conference organised by an international firm who celebrates and recognises such heroes. TEDx chooses just 5 speakers from all over the country and our Munnabhai was one of them. He has many fans all over the country including actor Salman Khan who runs his own charitable organisation. During his spare time he spends time chatting with the municipal workers who clean the garbage because according to him they are the real heroes who keep our city beautiful (that is so true). He is married with 2 kids but still finds time for charity work, family and friends. Now that kind of time management is not even seen in many of us educated folks. Being technologically advanced he is able to reach out to more people through his Facebook and twitter account and is also on whatsapp.

My destination at Andheri had arrived and I was so lost in conversation with this interesting man that I had not bothered to complain about the traffic or worry about reaching late to work. I had only one realisation dawning on me that a man with such limited means can do such unlimited good deeds.

It’s all about the will and passion to help others and look beyond our comfort zone. Driving an auto is one of the most challenging and humble profession as it is. Despite that Sandeep Bachhe considers it as an opportunity to meet new people and identify ways to help them if possible. This is such a genuine way to create and build bonds between each other and turn strangers into friends. We all talk about and think about helping someone but how much we actually DO is what matters.

He teaches how to take pride in what we do and stand out from the crowd by creating an identity for ourselves.

Hats off to Munnabhai SSC and his amazing adventure of helping the world become a better place !!