A NEW VISION

It was in 2016 when I packed my bags to visit my cousin who stayed in Ludhiana, Punjab which is a different state from mine that is ‘Uttarakhand’. I got this chance to explore a new place as I had opted for it as an exam centre for one of my competitive exams. I reached Ludhiana railway station around 1:00 A.M. and called up my cousin informing him that I had reached the station and asked him for his address. He texted me back and also guided me to hire an auto. I took an auto and gave the address to the auto driver. He couldn’t read English so I had to communicate it to him in Hindi. He took some time to come out of his comfort zone i.e. Punjabi language but he did understand me later and we began to move ahead. I used to carry an old-world Samsung smartphone with a keypad facility which was an android phone though. I had heard about google maps and tried using it in Haldwani but it was always very difficult for me to find the exact locations here.

As my mind already waffled because I was concerned about the auto driver if he could drop me to the exact address, so I opened up the google map in my phone thinking that Ludhiana is a big city and I would definitely be able to find my location. Luckily we found the perfect route to our destiny. The driver was even more amazed by the fact that a phone that we carry only to contact with our people can be helpful to us in such a way also. Finally, I reached my cousin’s place safely.

It indeed was a great moment and a great experience for me. I connected with google map and it turned out to be a great friend in need. Although I also felt proud of myself while narrating the incident to my cousin as if I was the only person who discovered something new in the world. Actually, it came out of the excitement of reaching a new place on my own. This place no more seemed strange to me. I had my exam after 2 days and the exam centre was almost 15 kms away from my cousin’s place. I had to find the location alone because my cousin was in his daily routine of office. I caught a bus to the exam centre but when I asked the conductor he told me some other location than what was shown in the google map. Further one more problem was the language issue as I didn’t know punjabi and everything inside the bus and outside was written in Punjabi language. Apparently I followed the location provided by google map and reached the exam centre on time. I told my cousin about it and he was happy that I did not face much trouble. I started using google maps as a daily routine now but only for my concern.

Later, while recalling this experience in 2017, an idea strike my head that I was not the only one who feared mid-night travelling and far flung corners of the cities and villages of course. And from the very moment I decided that I can help others too, if not directly than at least in an indirect way. I took it as my job as a public assistance. It was a selfless job as I was very happy to aid the general public in a way that was also very affordable for me. I did not have to do some special recharge or top-ups in my phone. It was a very economical way of helping others. I talk about affordability as I was still a student by the time and could not afford to help others in any other manner.

Soon I stepped towards my aim of using this tech savvy method of social help and began adding places wherever I went and especially the local surroundings of my hometown which was still a developing city. My thoughts were soon enhancing and steadily I was now also keen to see the growth of my place and its popularity as a metropolitan city. I was also aware that usually in cities like Haldwani it becomes very tough for people to reach the exact places they want to, not because it is dense, of course it is not as compared to the big cities but the conveyance slows down after 8 or 9 in the night. And then begins the state of confusion as was faced by me in ludhiana. So, if a person can find the exact location in the google map then there is no chance to be misled by anyone in the town.

One more exciting thing about it was helping others in extension of their small scale business. I added a barber’s shop in google maps as I found him one of the best in the local area but very few people had approached him. I told him about it and assured him that he shall definitely see a steady growth in his business. And, this happened. Similarly, I approached an old man who is a tailor so that he could earn good by a small step taken by me. I witnessed this change and was very happy about it. I am still continuing to do so and I owe this help to all persons who are in need.

I was also not aware of being rewarded by google in crossing different levels. Even after getting an email earlier I missed a few rewards awarded to me. When I saw the emails it was already late but this did not put me down as I was reinforced by the fact that a single thought that once evoked in my mind was appreciated by google too. As soon as I reached level 5 I read this email from google and got really excited about it and looking forward to a more exciting journey.

Hello @deepak99977 ,

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