A Gurudwara Gave Shelter To A French Family In Mumbai Rains And Here’s How They Thanked Them

29/8 will probably be marked as one of the darkest days of the year for Mumbaikars. Under the wrath of a disastrous deluge, almost everything was drowning and on the verge of it. Trees, vehicles, houses, humans, animals; everything except this one thing. The spirit of Mumbai. The spirit that is defined by the undying help lent by the Mumbaikars to those struggling in the floods. This precedent of a Gurudwara helping a French tourist family will prove my point!

On Tuesday night, when everything was submerged in chaos, a Gurudwara in Dadar provided safety and shelter to a French couple; Arie and Sophie Boleswaski and their three daughters. The family was stuck in the floods and was struggling to find a safe place.

The family had been struggling to find a hotel in Dadar for hours. The couple and the children had visited three hotels before being directed to the Gurudwara. As explained by Manpreet Singh, one of the Gurudwara Volunteers to Hindustan Times, 

“They went about one hotel to another, but couldn’t find a suitable place. That’s when one of the hotel owners, directed them towards us,”

The Gurudwara not only provided them a shelter but also offered them Dal Khichdi for dinner.

The family was touched by this extremely empathetic gesture shown by Gurudwara and decided to thank them with a heartfelt postcard. Here is what it read:

You can also have a look at the original picture of the post card:

And it was not only the French family that the Gurudwara helped. More than 750 victims were provided food and shelter. Here is what Kulwant Singh, vice-president of Dadar Singh Sabha had to say about it,

“They were one of 750 victims of Mumbai floods who came to the Gurudwara in need of shelter and food. Considering their concerns and the fact that they are our guests, we ensured they are not inconvenienced in any way,”

When I addressed the spirit of Mumbai, these were the people I was talking about. People who very selflessly think about others, people who show us that nothing is bigger than humanity, people who show us that only compassion and empathy can save the world.