Tag: kindness

Two Cafes, Two Choices: What I Learned About Kindness on a recent trip…

You know those moments when a small interaction stays with you way longer than it should? I had two of those in Paris, and I can’t stop thinking about the difference between them.

Day one: Found this tiny sandwich shop. The owner was passionate, explained everything about his baguettes with such pride. Amazing food, clearly loved what he did. But when we said we didn’t want the meal deal – just the sandwich – he charged us for it anyway. We were tourists, didn’t catch it until later. It wasn’t about the money, really. It was about that choice he made. Here’s someone who takes such care with his craft, but then… that little moment of taking advantage. It just sat wrong with me all day.

Day two: Different cafe. Same pride in their work, same quality. We asked for extra milk in our coffee – they didn’t charge. Then brought us a free cake we never ordered. Just because. When the bill came, of course I tipped them well. More than that – I left them a glowing Google review. I became their brand ambassador without even thinking about it.

Walking away from that second cafe, it hit me: both owners need to make revenue. Both clearly care about their work. But one made a choice to take a little extra, and the other made a choice to give a little extra.

Guess which one I’m still talking about? Guess which one got the Google review, the recommendation to friends, the customer for life?

I keep coming back to this – where does it pay to be kind? Where does integrity actually matter? Maybe it’s not about the immediate transaction. Maybe it’s about something bigger. That second cafe owner probably has no idea that his small act of generosity created a ripple effect that’s still going.

The universe has a funny way of paying back kindness. In business, in life – those small choices we make when we think no one’s watching? They matter more than we think.

Sometimes being nice isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.

They can have their rules, so can you..

At Delhi airport today.. in line to get coffee. Gentleman in front of me, an elderly uncle, had a flask in his hand, asked the cafe to fill it with warm water. The guy hesitated a bit, allowed hot water, then uncle also asked for a cup to take back to his wife. Cafe guy says ‘cup is chargeable, coffee leni padegi sir’

Asked the guy why? It’s a little cup? ‘Rules sir, company policy’.. so I ordered two coffees instead of one, asked him to give that empty cup to uncle. When the guy pointed at me while giving him the cup, just told uncle ‘I convinced them, it’s just a cup, should be free no?’.. uncle had a warm smile, nodded his head in agreement, and left.

Walking to boarding gate, saw uncle-aunty sitting, sharing their drink – one from flask, one in coffee cup :)

If we can do these tiny acts all around us.. that’s the kind of world we want kids to live in. There’s something above rules and regulations and policies – it’s being human.. little empathy.. little heart.

If they got rules, make your own too, little peaceful rebels we are.

The video which fed 1.5 million people..

During the lockdown days, there was a crisis on the streets. While we were tucked away in our homes, a lot of migrant workers were going back to their native places, walking all the way, scrambling for any resources to get home, without food or help.

A friend of mine, Dev Amritesh, CEO of a company which had big industrial kitchens, called me. They had sprung into action. Just like any other company during that time, they were working in crisis mode. They started creating simple meals since all the offices were closed, and these meals were being fed on the ground by local NGO support.

They created a landing page where for ₹30 per meal, anyone could contribute. They would prepare it at no profit and get it delivered on the ground.

He called me to see if I could create a video. Me and my wife made this, and spent ₹350 making it. One of those lockdown moments of just teaming up after washing the dishes and cooking the food to create this video.

This video sent 10,000 people to the landing page (from instagram) with-in days and 1.5 million people were fed. I look back on this with a heavy heart and hope.. something I always remember – the power of content and storytelling to inspire action, which directly helped someone in need.

UPDATE: Comments on Linkedin Post

Dev Amritesh
Compass Group Chief Strategy Enablement officer

This brought back many memories Aashish Chopra. A great example of how crisis gets people together. And how to create impact sometimes all it takes determination and timely intervention. Lots of people played a huge role in making this happen and I remember each ones contribution fondly. Richa S. Ashwani Vohra MALABIKA GUPTA Arjyo Banerjee Abhishek A Keyur Shah Manish Mamtani Munish Sharma Supriyo Dasgupta Bhaskar NM Sriharsha M.


Aashish Nanavati
Growth-Focused Fractional CMO | Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategist | Building Thriving Businesses Globally

Aashish what an inspiring story! This is such a powerful reminder of how meaningful impact can come from simple actions, especially in times of crisis. The fact that a ₹350 video could help feed 1.5 million people shows the true power of storytelling and the impact of collaboration. It’s heartwarming to see how creativity and purpose can come together to drive real change. Kudos to you, your wife, Dev, and everyone involved for stepping up when it was most needed. Stories like this restore faith in humanity

How small actions can have big impact

Driving down golf course today in Gurgaon, saw an unconscious man on the divider, with half his body on the road, with speeding cars swishing by inches from his legs… took a u turn, to make sure I saw it right.. and there he was… went about the road.. put blinkers on and stopped next to him (with chaos of cars honking behind me)..

I feared if he was okay, shouted in the bustling noise of the traffic.. ‘bhai theek ho’.. he seemed to have fainted.. sat next to him.. shook his shoulders and kept talking to him.. few cars stopped.. a person came and offered water.. another came and helped him sit.. and splashed water on his face.. he was okay.. either too drunk or intoxicated.. he was dressed in a crisp white shirt and black pants, worked for an office nearby it seems. Me and the other person who helped, made him stand.. and took him far away from the speeding cars.. made him sit in shade.. he was ok now.. mumbling but ok. After it seemed he had collected himself.. we left..

It’s easy to brush or ignore someone aside, thinking.. ‘oh he’s drunk’, but who are we to judge what a person is going through, also observed that no ones stops to help.. but.. when they see someone take an initiative to help.. cars stop.. people come forward.. and in that moment.. it seems we’re all one, there for each other…

So, next time you see someone in need of help, you’re not alone.. and it won’t become your problem.. take the initiative to help.. coz when you stop to help.. magically.. others will show up.. and we together we take care of each other.. like one big family, and your small action.. can snowball into big impact.

From a Hindi teacher to a cab driver to future content creator :)

Last month on my way to Delhi, I met Yakub, a cab driver. He had been here for 3 months and passionately talked about going back to Ranchi, to start his own Hindi tuition centre for classes 1-5. ‘Teen saal mein teen lakh’ was his goal, to save enough to return back and kickstart his little startup…

He spoke passionately about what he taught kids back in Ranchi. After a pause for few minutes, I asked him what if he could save that money in half the time? He looked back confused, until I pointed to keep eyes on the road..

‘Do you know how many people want their kids to learn Hindi, around the world?’ Confused still, he peeked into the rear view mirror at me. ‘How about you start teaching Hindi on YouTube, make videos for every little topic’ and focus on getting online tuition classes from people who find your video, and when you start getting parents from across India and abroad, you do online tuitions in your free time after the job, it can take sometime but you’ll do the work you love, and when you’ve hit your 3 lakh mark, with savings from the job and online classes.. you go start your centre… 

His eyes lit up, still looking through the mirror. By this time I was at my destination, as I got out.. I gave him the book (always carry a copy in my bag), gave him Rs. 1000 to invest in a tripod/ring light to start creating videos from his phone and told him to learn everyday anytime he gets.. 

Learn about how YouTube works by watching YouTube tutorials, watch what others teachers have done to see it’s not difficult and learn ‘what’ and ‘how’ to make videos from the book and call me when he has attempted his first video. He kept staring at me as I patted his back and got out. 

If you can find someone you can help, with skills you’ve learnt over the years.. don’t just give gyan.. but give an action plan and a little support.. once the extra wheels come off.. off they go empowered to thrive.. and that’s the India 🇮🇳 I love.. working hard with a twinkle in their eyes ♥️

Do share your stories, if you’ve had a similar experience 😊