Indian mom shares story of stranger's kindness on Singapore metro in viral post: ‘One pushed, one helped’

“The kindness that I'll never forget”: An Indian woman exploring Singapore with a toddler on a sunny day was moved by a stranger's kind gesture on a jam-packed metro. In a viral Instagram Reel, content creator Sakshi shared how the kindness of a stranger became the highlight of her trip.

Sakshi said she was visiting Universal Studios in Singapore with her child on a very hot day and took a very crowded metro. She captioned the viral video as: “One pushed. One helped. And that’s why I’ll never forget Singapore.”

“My baby was asleep on my shoulder, and we were both sweating a lot. Then the metro arrived, we got on, and as usual, the metro was very crowded,” she said. Inside the metro, Sakshi recalled that several people offered her a seat.

However, just as she was about to sit, Sakshi recounted how a seemingly healthy Indian woman, aged 35 to 40, pushed past her to take the seat. “A lady pushed me, ran ahead, and sat down on that seat. I noticed she was an Indian, and her age was around 35 to 40,” she said.

Soon after, Sakshi recalled how another woman offered her a seat and was very kind throughout the journey. “She stood up, and all this while, mind you, for a straight 15 minutes of my journey, she was continuously fanning me and my baby,” she said. “I’ll never forget this.”

Sakshi thanked the passenger before exiting the metro, but the woman insisted it was no trouble. “No worries, it is my duty," she told Sakshi. "You are raising a future generation, and I know exactly how difficult it can be to travel with a baby.”

She concluded by saying a small act can represent your country in a foreign land. “A small kind act by a stranger can define a complete memory of the trip,” she added.

How netizens reacted:

Social media users flooded the comment section with the “civic sense” debate and said, “All the hate we (Indians) are getting abroad, we deserve it.”

“It’s ironic that Indians have the ‘log Kya kahenge’ mentality but never when it comes to basic courtesy and kindness,” said another user.

A user said, “A very unfortunate reality is that most Indians lack empathy .. basic civic sense is empathy towards others and our environment.. I don’t know when we will change this mentality.”

“Every day it’s the same story, the lack of civic sense is genuinely frustrating,” said a user.

Several netizens praised the Singaporean woman and said, “That lady's kindness was truly heartwarming.❤️”

“Yes, Singaporeans are really very very generous, especially towards pregnant women, babies/toddlers, and the elderly. They do follow this basic decency and kindness,” another netizen noted.

However, a user said, the kindness has nothing to do with “being Indian or Singaporean. Kindness has no nationality.” “There are kind people and unkind people everywhere. What made this moment special wasn't where she came from, but the compassion she chose to show,” the user said.