A Sewri resident, who was having trouble locating an address in Goregaon, was in for a pleasant surprise when Mumbai mayor Sunil Prabhu, who was in the same area on some official business, came forward and offered detailed directions. Funnily enough, the young man didn’t even know that he was speaking to the mayor till someone told him about it.
Saransh Mohite, a freelance media professional, hired a taxi along with his mother. The duo wanted to visit an ailing acquaintance, who is currently admitted to Sabnis Hospital in Goregaon. The taxi driver didn’t know the exact location of the hospital. Hence, once they reached Goregaon, the Mohites started asking for directions. However, none of the people they asked were of much help. Finally, they saw a police constable and decided to ask him.
“Before the constable could answer our query, a gentleman wearing crisp formals came forward. He gave us detailed directions to the hospital. We were happy, and thanked him. However, before we could move ahead, some people standing a short distance away started shouting something at us. I got out of the taxi and asked them what the matter was, and to our embarrassment, we were told that we had just spoken to the mayor,” said Mr Mohite. He added that he had never expected someone as important as the mayor to actually bother giving directions to a common citizen, and that the experience had been a heart warming one.
Mr Prabhu, however, said that his actions were hardly a big deal. “It is only my duty to offer guidance to whoever needs it, more so because I am the first citizen of this city. As they were asking for directions to a hospital, I felt there might have been some emergency,” he said.