A few days ago, the story of auto-driver Desraj ji melted many hearts as people queued up to help him out after the demise of his two sons.
Desraj lost his offsprings to unfortunate incidents but was determined to make his granddaughter study. For this reason, he said that he had sold his house and continues to live in his auto without any complain.
Naturally finding this unacceptable, people on the internet decided to sort the financial side of things out for him by starting a fundraiser.
And to our pleasant surprise, he now has ₹24 lakh to take care of his responsibilities.
His story first featured on the official page of Humans of Bombay, where he mentioned his struggles as the breadwinner of the family.
It was the responsibility of my daughter-in-law and their 4 children that kept me going. After the cremation, my granddaughter, who was in class 9, asked me, “Dadaji, will I have to quit school?’ I gathered all my courage & reassured her, “Never! You study as much as you want”.
He also mentioned how, despite working for hours at end, he used to manage only 10,000 for his family: More than half of which used to go for his granddaughter’s education.
However, it never deterred him as one phone call from her used to make him smile. He also said that he is just waiting for her to become the first graduate in the family, and that he’d give free rides to everyone the day it happens.
His story resonated with people and while no one can take from his pain, some money has been raised to take care of the matters immediately.
Very similar to the owners of Baba Ka Dhaba, Desraj ji’s life has changed, thanks to a rare but beautiful act of solidarity shown by strangers. And it is something that reminds us of the basic empathy that binds us all together.
We hope that all his wishes come true and that he never has to sleep in the auto again.