Say hello to a stranger today

I believe that if each person on the planet said hello to a total stranger once daily the world would evolve into a substantially better place Through years of practice Im now a master at saying hello to total strangers One thing leads to another and usually the most unusual friendships evolve So here is the first instalment of Hello Stranger 1 a column within a column for sharing my hellostranger stories from time to timeThis ones about Katja who I met because I said hello to a stranger called Israel Yes that is his nameI was getting off an Indian Airlines plane back in 1980 when that was the only domestic airline The book I was reading as we disembarked at Bombay mdash thats what we called it back then mdash said one should make a new friend every day It didnt say why this was supposed to be good but I decided to give it a goIn front of me was someone in a white kurta and pajamas I tapped his shoulder It was a young foreigner from Haifa Israel at the end of his India holiday His destination was the Israeli Consulate on Pedder Road I was heading towards Nariman Point it seemed logical to offer him a rideHe thought it might inconvenience me He needed to first go to the international airport mdash then known as Sahar Airport mdash to deposit his rucksack in Left Luggage He was right that was a definite inconvenience since Sahar was a good distance away in the opposite direction mdash but it seemed logical to protest and say really no problem at allSo we went in the other direction he checked in his luggage and we were standing in some endless airport corridor when I saw this bird in a colourful Rajasthani ghagra and curly hair running in our direction She was really very tall Like one of those Navis in Avatar She was heading towards usTowards Israel actually I dont think she quite trusted the locals I heard an interminable torrent of anguished German with tears in full flow Israel listened impassively and then with a shrug towards me made the tall girl my problemKatja Wanderluumlng 19 fresh from a vacation in Goa with her friends had returned to Bombay only to learn that her Lebanon Airways flight had left a day earlier The next one was five days awaySo there she was panicstricken in a chaotic city of unsettling brown men who stared at women I asked her questions and learned that the German Consulate at Nariman Point had a dole for stranded German tourists if only she could get there It seemed only logical to offer Katja a ride into town as well Pretty soon I was rattling along in a hot and rickety Fiat taxi with not one but two strangers Two for the price of oneI became aware of murmured conversations in the back seat Israel was talking to her in a steady stream of urgent words and a while later I realized Katja was sniffling in tears It took me another moment to figure it out I had put a German and a Jew together in the back seat mdash and the Jew was putting the German on trial for her ancestors sinsShe sat silent after we dropped Israel off She must have been terrified alone in a city she had never been to with a man she had met just an hour earlier Well things only went downhill from thereThe German Consulate had closed at 4 pm which led to her second deluge Now she was stranded and without moneyI had an idea We returned to my office mdash a small features agency of writers mdash and fed and watered Katja with dosas and tea I gave her R500 mdash no small sum back then mdash and sent her to the interstate bus station with my peon to put her on a bus back to GoaBut Im an art student she said when I offered her the money I dont earn I cant repay youI suggested she could pay it forward some distant day to some other stranded traveler in her own countryA month later a handsome coffee table book on Nuumlremberg arrived in the mail The accompanying letter said Katja had begun saving and hoped to repay me one day A year and a half later in March 1982 I travelled abroad for the first time Two friends and I were going to London and then cross country over EuropeA letter from Katja in March announced that she finally had the German marks to repay meOn May 16 1982 a handful of pounds was waiting for me when we reached LondonI still have the book on NuumlrembergHere viewed from there C Y Gopinath in Bangkok throws unique light and shadows on Mumbai the city that raised him You can reach him at cygopigmailcom Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates