The Currency of Trust

There was a time when we didn’t have a concept of using locks. We trusted our neighbours with our homes, belongings, children and the works. Gradually, everything changed, so much so that we don’t even trust our own kith and kin, our own bloodline with anything that is dear to us. In a world like that I came in for a huge surprise. It melted my heart and reminded me that there are places and there are people in the world who still believe in a small little word, called, ‘TRUST’.

A few days ago, I was visiting Nagaland to make a film. I was stationed at a little village called Porba. On my way to Kohima, my driver stopped by at an unmanned shop. When I asked him how anyone could purchase from a place like that, he told me, “This is a Trust Store.” That’s the first I ever heard of a concept like that. In a far-off land, in an extreme deep-end of our country, lies a state that has Trust Stores. These are unique, unmanned stores that are set up on the highways by villagers. While they toil away in the fields, they put their faith, their trust in absolute strangers to purchase whatever they like from these stores, and hopefully, pay for them.

Man! Trust is such an alien concept for our modern-day thinking! We place CCTVs everywhere, which speaks a great deal about the level of distrust we surround ourselves with. And here was a shop that was not being monitored by a device or a human being. Maybe that is the reason I found this experience to be a happy surprise. This Trust Store had fresh fruits, vegetables, edible items — priced and placed for any traveller on the highway. I looked around for some time in sheer amazement — the thought behind creating these trust stores speaks a great deal about the people of a state we know precious little about. I picked up what I liked. I even tasted some cherry tomatoes from a packet before billing. Even though I paid Rs.100, I felt a hundred times enriched as I drove away.

It has been a few days since I returned to Mumbai. But this road journey has stayed with me, and probably, will stay in memory for as long as I live. As I look around, I increasingly feel that the world suffers from trust deficit. But there are places and there are people who have surplus trust in strangers like me to do what is right. Discovering the trust stores has filled me with so much happiness. I actually came back a changed man — one who wants to trust all over again.

Will I be successful at doing it? Time and people around me will tell!