Tarun Nandi/Kolkata

For Selim Sheikh, an e-rickshaw is more than a means of earning a living. It is also a way to ease the hardships of people who remind him of his own difficult past.

The 30-year-old from Bhakundi village under Bhakuri-II Gram Panchayat in Berhampore block of West Bengal’s Murshidabad district depends entirely on his e-rickshaw to support his family. He knows how little a day’s work can bring and how difficult it is to manage household expenses while paying for his child’s education.

Yet, despite his limited income, Selim has made an unusual decision. He does not charge students or elderly passengers for their rides. He takes them to their destinations free of cost, finding satisfaction in a small act of kindness that has brought him recognition far beyond his village.

The reason behind his gesture lies in the hardships he experienced growing up. Poverty once stood in the way of his education and forced him to shoulder family responsibilities at a young age. Those experiences taught him to recognise the struggles of others. Rather than forgetting his difficult past, Selim has turned it into a source of motivation to help people facing similar challenges.

Selim Sheikh

According to locals, Selim’s childhood was marked by hardship and uncertainty. He lost his father at a very young age, leaving his mother to care for two young children. The family initially took shelter at a relative’s home. A few years later, Selim’s grandmother brought the children back to live with her.

His grandfather was physically disabled, and there was no one else who could take responsibility for the household. To make ends meet, his grandmother travelled from village to village selling clothes.

Although she worked hard to support the family, poverty remained a constant presence in their lives. Continuing his education was a struggle. Unable to afford the fare for transport, Selim would walk five miles to school every day.

Despite these difficulties, he continued studying and completed his higher secondary education. But he could not pursue further studies.

Selim Sheikh

As his grandmother grew older and found it increasingly difficult to manage the household, Selim faced a painful choice. He decided to put his own ambitions aside and begin earning so that he could support the family.

“I could no longer bear to see my elderly grandmother struggle to run the household,” Selim says, explaining why he gave up his studies to take responsibility for the family.

He learnt to drive and began working as a driver. For four years, he earned his living driving vehicles for others. He then spent nearly two years driving a rented e-rickshaw.

Gradually, he saved money from his earnings while meeting the family’s daily expenses. Eventually, he fulfilled his dream of buying an e-rickshaw of his own.

But the vehicle soon became more than a source of income. For Selim, it offered an opportunity to stand by people whose difficulties he understood all too well.

Selim Sheikh

After buying his own e-rickshaw, Selim decided that students and elderly passengers would not have to pay him for their rides.

His reasons are deeply personal. Seeing children going to school takes him back to the days when he struggled to continue his own education. Watching elderly passengers reminds him of his grandmother, who endured hardship and sacrificed her comfort to raise him.For Selim, offering free rides is a way of acknowledging the people and circumstances that shaped his life.

His decision is particularly meaningful because he is not a wealthy man with money to spare. He is a family man who continues to live on the income generated by his daily work.

Selim is married to Sahila Khatun, and their only son is in Class 1. The family depends on his e-rickshaw earnings to meet its expenses.

Even so, Sahila supports her husband’s decision to offer free rides to students and elderly people. She understands the hardships he endured while growing up and does not want to discourage him from acting on the compassion those experiences have instilled in him.

Selim Sheikh

Knowing what her husband went through, she believes his desire to help others should be respected. She also hopes that, by Allah’s grace, better days will come for their family despite their present difficulties.

Her support has helped Selim continue his initiative without abandoning the responsibilities he carries at home.

It has been only six months since Selim bought his own e-rickshaw, but his name has already spread through the surrounding areaFor students and elderly passengers, a free ride may mean saving a little money that can be used for other essential needs. For Selim, the return comes in the form of blessings from older passengers, smiles from children and the affection of people who appreciate his gesture.

His initiative may not increase his daily earnings. But it gives him a sense of fulfilment that money cannot measure.

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Selim’s story is a reminder that kindness does not always require wealth or a grand platform. Sometimes, it begins with recognising another person’s struggle because one has experienced something similar.