BENGALURU: It had all the trappings of the routine recital of apathy and inhumanity when 30-year-old Yellamma, who was pregnant, collapsed in the middle of a busy junction in Manvi town of North Karnataka ’s Raichur district. But what unfolded instead conveyed a vast array of emotions that hinged on kindness.Yellamma’s wish for a girlchild came true when she delivered a healthy baby on the road and in the middle of the busy junction. But the most amazing moment was when an aged woman beggar, who was sitting nearby, played the midwife.“This is one of the most beautiful incidents to have happened in our town. Both the mother and the infant are doing well,” said Manvi MLA G Hampayya Nayak Ballatgi over phone. Manvi is around 450km from Bengaluru. What’s more, the heart-touching incident comes at a time when there have been reports of how people of North Karnataka districts usually start making videos of those in distress (especially road-accident victims) instead of helping them.A resident of Sanna Bazaar, Yellamma is the wife of agriculturist Ramanna and a mother of three boys. The couple reportedly craved for a girlchild. Yellamma visited a private hospital in the town after having completed 36 weeks. She was advised to visit Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) as she was found to be anaemic. Accordingly, the couple visited Raichur (60km from Manvi) and returned to the town by bus around 9:30am.Quoting eyewitnesses Ballatgi said: “She got off the bus and fell on the road. She couldn’t move to safety. While her husband was visibly shocked to see her bleed, a good Samaritan rushed to her rescue.” A local television reporter who later visited the spot said: “The Samaritan was a woman beggar, aged around 60. She knew that she had to act immediately if the mother and the baby were to be saved. So, she turned into a midwife on the road. Soon, a few other women from the nearby locality joined her.”The couple’s joy knew no bounds when they first saw the baby. Yellamma and the newborn were later shifted to Manvi Government Hospital. The woman beggar reportedly disappeared when the crowd dispersed.“These people may not be rich, but they showed how big-hearted they are. A woman’s longing for a girlchild and a stranger rushing to save her aren’t things we hear often these days. But this shows that there are also good people,” said Ballatgi.