Actually I wrote this article for Blogadda's contest on 'Soldier for Women' and missed the due date. The other participants actually got lucky :-P Anyway here goes...
It
was a pleasant Sunday evening. My mother, the single alto singer in a choir
that comprised of at least fifteen soprano voices, never missed the choir
practice at 4:00p.m. My father always dropped her at the church premises before
time, parked the car, and went walking. He would walk around one hour, come
back and wait for her, reading his favorite Reader’s Digest. The choir practice
usually went on for an hour and a half. I never made calls to her mobile at
this time, mainly because the choir master hated mobile phones, and also
because my mother was not an expert in setting it to silent mode.
One
Saturday, I called my mother casually and she mentioned about the charitable
concert their choir was about to conduct and how the choir master made the attendance
of all singers mandatory. She went on to explain how annoying the he had become
over the week, due to the upcoming concert and related pressure. She spoke like
a child, scared of her new teacher. Then she said, ‘But Papa has to go to see
his mother tomorrow. It is important. He tells me to go in an auto’ she paused
and took a deep breath.
Then she continued with an unexpected energy, out of
the blue ‘May be I will drive to church tomorrow!’
‘But
Mummy you haven’t driven in a long time’, I elaborated my concern.
‘So
what, it is not a peak hour, and there is not much traffic’ she retorted.
Papa
was hesitant in the beginning, but later decided to go with her decision. Miles
away, I cut the call and sat disturbed in my hostel room. To be honest, Mummy
drove like crazy. She bakes the yummiest cakes, stitches her own dresses, makes
stunning bridal bouquets and flower arrangements, but when it comes to driving
she is definitely not the best. ‘People
learn through experience. Unless you drive on your own, alone, it is not
possible to face the road’ said my hostel-mate just for the sake of saying.
On
Sunday evening, around 4:00 p.m. my mobile rang. It was Mummy, and she squealed
in delight to say that she reached safely, and that the car was parked parallel
to another one, in the same compound. She also told me not to call her for
another two hours, as the choir master was already angry at a few people who hadn't turned up. After this call, I got lost in my routine hostel activities.
Around
9:00 pm I called Papa to know whether he reached home, when my call reached a
rather noisy place. ‘Hello? Where are you? Why aren’t you home already?’ I
asked in a single breath.
Papa
said, ‘We are at a hospital here. Mummy met with a small accident…’ he paused.
‘WHAT!’
I screamed.
Papa
continued, ‘Mummy is fine. As she was driving back after choir practice, her
car hit a two wheeler. A young guy who was riding it fell down. He is also fine
now, we are going home. Mummy is paranoid, we will call you tomorrow’.
The
next day as soon as I woke up I grabbed my mobile and dialed Mummy. Mummy
answered my call in a voice which clearly sounded like she cried herself to
sleep the previous day. ‘Mummy!’ I said.
She
narrated the incident like this.
“Yesterday,
I was driving home after choir and had reached halfway when there was a left
turn. I switched on my indicator, honked a little bit, and turned just like the
vehicle in front of me, when I heard a loud thud on the side of our car. I
stopped immediately, and so did all other cars behind me. Some people came
running at that point and many others on the other side of the road also came
running. Next I know, some onlookers were banging on my window, using abusive
words, telling me to come outside. I was numb, shivering and completely
oblivious of what happened. I saw people trying to open my side of the door
angrily. My hands sweated and heart beat faster. I felt like I was losing my
eyesight as everything was blurred. Then I slowly slid into the passenger seat
in front and got out through that side, as some angry people were standing near
the driver’s side of the car. I saw a young man on the pavement, unconscious,
and a scooter lying next to him. It was then that it occurred to me, that I was
responsible for the life of this man. He looked hardly 27. At least 50 people
had gathered around our car, a traffic block was thus created and there was
noise and havoc. I still dint know what to do, as fifty pairs of eyes were on
me, and none on the victim who lay on the pavement. I froze.
Suddenly
an auto rickshaw drove into the scene and its driver walked out straight to the
victim. He checked the young guy and screamed ‘He is alive..!’ and lifted him
with difficulty. None of the onlookers helped, neither did I! The driver put
the young guy at the back seat of our car, strode to the driver seat and
started the car! I stood watching, when he yelled ‘Madam what are you looking
at? GET INSIDE!’ I quickly got into the front seat and that guy sped through
the streets honking like crazy, signaling emergency. I called Papa and mumbled
something. He drove to the nearest hospital. The driver stopped at the porch,
called the staff of the hospital and put the guy on the stretcher and rolled it
into Casualty section. The driver accompanied me as we walked towards the
Casualty section, and a doctor emerged. They exchanged certain details, while I
answered Papa’s call as he was on the way back, and I told him the hospital
name. As I cut Papa’s call and turned, the driver was gone. I ran to the porch
where our car was parked, and the security said that the driver had parked the
car in the hospital parking area, and handed over the keys to me. I ran to the
hospital entrance and searched every possible place, but he was gone. The
doctor emerged from the casualty after an hour, during which Papa also managed
to reach as we waited with bated breaths.
“Good
that you brought him here at the right time… that guy is perfectly fine and he
can go home tomorrow” said the doctor. Soon, an old lady and a pregnant woman
reached the corridor where we were, and a nurse told us that it was the mother
and wife of the accident victim. They did not recognize us. If not for the help
and presence of mind of that auto driver, this mother would have lost her son,
and a young woman, her husband. It would have changed their lives and mine,
forever, for worse.
This
auto driver, who stood up for my mother who was in a helpless situation, is a
real soldier. The world needs more people like him. For me, he is a faceless
and nameless person, who dint even stop to be recognized for his good deed.
When
the whole world prefers to point fingers and accuse, there are this few who
actually make us believe that humanity still exists, at least in traces.
