Last Friday evening I got on the train at Little India and there was a father with his little daughter already in my carriage — she was seated next to the reserved seat, and he was standing in front of her. On one shoulder he was carrying her little pink school satchel, and in his other hand a toy gibbon, which she took from him, cuddled and handed back to him and then giggled and reached for again. He hooked the arms of the gibbon over the overhead bars. At the next stop an old man got onto the train; the lady on the reserved seat was bent over her phone and didn’t notice. The man turned and saw the old man, and then he turned again and scooped his child out of the seat. The old man gestured back, No no, let the child sit. The lady on the reserved seat now looked up, saw the mime-show of politeness in front of her, and immediately got up for the old man. The old man smiled his thanks and made towards the seat — but the train had begun moving by now and he was unsteady, could not quite reach the next handhold, looking for hte right moment to let go — and his shoulder bag began to swing away from his back, dragging him back, and a different man, standing behind him, leaned over and pushed his bag up again. He never even saw who helped him. Now there was the matter of the other empty seat. The father held his little girl to him, gestured for the lady sit. The lady sat, but gestured to the little girl she could have the seat if she wanted. The little girl hid behind her gibbon. And then we were at the next station and father and daughter got off.

All that happened in under 4 minutes and made me happy.