By Sandeep Verma 
Bengaluru, November 22: It was close to midnight in Bengaluru, the kind of quiet, stretched hour when even a big city feels a little emptied out. Yogitaa Rathore, a Mumbai creator who had been shooting through the day, slid into a cab for the airport. She had a 2 am flight, barely any energy left, and, as she later admitted, a rumbling stomach she was trying to ignore.
At some point on the ride, she muttered into a call that she was starving and didn’t know when she’d manage to eat. According to The Indian Express, that was enough for her driver to notice. Nothing dramatic followed. No big conversation. Just a moment of someone listening.
Rathore later said in her Instagram video that something unexpectedly sweet happened to her that night in Bangalor,e and it would stay with her. You can hear the tiredness in her voice. She wasn’t setting out to tell a grand story. She was simply recounting what felt like a small kindness at the end of a long day.
A Driver Who Decided He Couldn’t Ignore It
The driver, unnamed in all reports so far, told her that hearing her repeatedly say she was hungry bothered him. As per The Indian Express, he said that if his own sister were in that positio,n he would feel awful. He’d also caught that she wanted vegetarian food, so he kept an eye out for something suitable.
Then he asked her to wait a moment, stepped out near a small stall and returned with a packet of warm sandwiches. No fuss. No speech. Just handed it to her.
Her reaction was immediate and a little emotional. She told him she would remember him always. For anyone who has travelled alone while exhausted, the moment is easy to understand.
Why This Hit A Nerve Online
By morning, the video had spread widely. People seemed almost relieved to come across a story that wasn’t another argument about surge pricing or cancellations. According to The Indian Express, many comments called the gesture wholesome. Others said they had not expected such softness in a system built on speed and ratings.
A few pointed out the obvious tension. Women travelling late at night are careful by necessity, and accepting food from a stranger is not a simple decision. But they appreciated the context, the intention and the circumstances.
Bengaluru And Its Quiet Good Samaritans
Bengaluru has a habit of producing these small stories. Earlier this year, as Hindustan Times reported, an auto driver returned a forgotten bag filled with cash. No drama then either. Just an honest act that briefly lit up social media.
It is not that the city is perfect. Anyone who has taken a cab here knows the fatigue of long routes and unpredictable traffic. But now and then, a moment like this slips through, carried by someone who is simply paying attention.
Still, there are gaps in what we know. The driver remains anonymous. The ride-hailing platform has not issued a statement. There is no mention of whether Rathore tried to reach out later, or whether the company will acknowledge him. The story lives mostly through her video and the reporting around it.
The Reality Of Late Night Travel
Rathore’s situation was familiar to anyone who has worked long hours and then rushed to catch a flight. Late night travel brings its own kind of vulnerability. You are alert but also drained. Hungry without the energy to find food. The city feels less predictable at that hour.
The driver’s decision appears to have come simply from instinct. None of the reports says whether he paused the ride on the app or followed any formal process. Gig workers often end up navigating these borderline situations on their own, balancing care with caution, efficiency with basic human decency.
What This Moment Says About Us
The clip went viral on November 22, pulling in hundreds of comments. Some people shared their own stories. Some said this made them rethink how they treat service workers. Others simply said they needed a reminder that kindness still finds room in big cities.
These stories often burn bright for a day or two before fading. They rarely lead to changes in the conditions drivers work under. They don’t fix safety concerns for passengers. But they linger in memory because they break the predictable rhythm of urban life.
Why This Story Stayed With People
Maybe it was the simplicity. Maybe because the driver’s words, comparing her to a sister, felt rooted in everyday Indian life. Or perhaps because Rathore’s narration felt honest rather than curated. She hadn’t planned to turn it into a viral clip. It just became one.
As of now, the moment remains just that: one man, one gesture, one late night when a hungry traveller found herself unexpectedly cared for.
A Small Gesture In A Big City
Cities often exhaust people. They make us defensive, rushed, and constantly calculating the next step. But now and then, someone chooses to slow down for another person. It is not a policy decision. Not a customer service script. Just a quiet instinct.
That is what happened on the road to the airport that night. A brief pause in the usual churn of the gig economy. And because Rathore decided to talk about it, many others paused too.
Sometimes that is enough to shift how a day feels. Sometimes it is enough to remind people that the city they complain about still has room for gentleness.
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Regional journalist bringing grassroots perspectives and stories from towns and cities across India.
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
