A solo traveller’s experience in Kerala has gone viral on social media after she shared how a simple travel mistake turned into an unexpected story of kindness. The post, shared on Instagram by user @indiawitkin, describes how she accidentally left her debit card at an ATM in a small beach town in Kerala while travelling alone in India. What began as a stressful oversight later turned into a gesture she says restored her faith in humanity.
In her detailed caption, she explained that she realised the card was missing only after she had already travelled nearly five hours away to a larger city. Earlier that day, she had visited a DHL office to send a parcel to the United States and had exchanged contact details with an employee there, as many transactions and coordination in India often happen over WhatsApp. When she discovered the card was gone, she reached out to him for help and asked him to check whether it was still at the ATM.
(Also Read: 'Found it annoying when I was 25': Ankur Warikoo on his mother’s daily habit)
She wrote that she spent the next day hoping it would be found and even prayed for a positive outcome. “Prayed to every Hindu God and Goddess I could think of,” she noted in her post. Around 24 hours later, she received confirmation that the card had been located, placed on top of the ATM machine. However, getting it back was still a challenge as she was due to leave India within 36 hours and it was a Sunday, making shipping or formal retrieval difficult.
{{/usCountry}}She wrote that she spent the next day hoping it would be found and even prayed for a positive outcome. “Prayed to every Hindu God and Goddess I could think of,” she noted in her post. Around 24 hours later, she received confirmation that the card had been located, placed on top of the ATM machine. However, getting it back was still a challenge as she was due to leave India within 36 hours and it was a Sunday, making shipping or formal retrieval difficult.
{{/usCountry}}Take a look:
Stranger’s 14-hour journey to return lost card
According to her post, the DHL employee eventually decided to help in person. He reportedly travelled around six hours in a tuk-tuk with two friends to deliver the card himself, completing a 14-hour round trip on his day off. The effort, she said, went far beyond what she expected from a stranger she had briefly interacted with earlier that day.
When she offered to pay him for the journey, he refused to accept any money, saying he knew she was travelling on a budget and should keep it for herself. She referred to him as Krishna in her caption and wrote, “The Hindu god of love, compassion, and protection. Tell me karma doesn’t exist. Hopefully this story restores your faith in humanity, because it did for me.”
(Also Read: Bengaluru man shows road choked with traffic after rain: 'Top talent of the country works here’)
The post has since gained significant traction online, drawing thousands of reactions from users who praised the act of kindness. Many described it as a reminder of the goodness of strangers, while others said it reflected the warmth often associated with travel experiences in India. Comments such as “Indian people are really kind,” “Keralam will never disappoint you,” and “Wow, this is amazing” flooded the post, along with users calling it a rare example of humanity and trust.