The Accident...
I could feel the pain in Rashi’s heart today. As
soon as she told me about her dad, I held her close to me. “You have to get
yourself up, OK!” I said. “He’s still in ICU. Doctors are looking after him. We
all will pray for him. Everything will be alright.” And we rushed to her home
in Kachnar City. She packed her things up. Her mom had booked tickets for Rashi
and herself in the morning itself.
I called up a nearby auto rickshaw to take us to the
station. In the meantime, Ankit and Rohit arrived at Rashi’s place with fruits
and snacks for the journey. I handed over my bike's keys to Rohit, so that he
could bring the bike to station, while I go in the auto with both the ladies.
All the while, aunt was busy having frequent calls to Rashi’s cousin, Akshay,
who was attending uncle at the hospital till they arrived, regarding the news
at hospital.
We reached station well in time to catch the train. Ankit
and Rahul reached the station before us, and helped us in carrying the luggage.
No matter how cool both of them were trying to act, it was clear that they were
feeling sad about what has happened. All the while they were there, they kept
looking at Rashi, and then at me, when I gave them the expression of “Will you
cut it out!!!”.
As soon as the green signal was given, I hugged them (Rashi
and aunt) and asked them to keep calling me whenever they can. We all waved
them good bye as the train started to leave for New Delhi.
With the sound of the
train running over the tracks, reverberated the sounds of those frequent phone
calls, calls of worry, calls of asking, “Rahul beta, how’s Amol now?” “Did
you talk to him?” “Is he alright?” “Where did they take him for operating?” And
all I could say was, “Don’t worry aunty, I certainly hope he’s well.. I’ll call
you as soon as I have any news.” Till then even I couldn’t believe that he’s no more... It was the last
day of our first semester exams... We were going home on his bike when a
dumpster hit us from behind...
12th February’ 2007 01:18 PM
I picked myself up. With a sense of relief, I said, “Thank
God!” And I turned to see where he was, Amol. I called for him, “Dude, get up..
Dude.. Amol.. Get up.. GET UP!!! ” He didn’t say a thing. He didn’t move. His
eyes were closed. He didn’t get up. His face hit the ground on his left chin, I
could see the bruises... His clothes were torn. I couldn’t understand what
happened... I couldn’t picture it at all... With all my strength, I tried to
pick him up... But I failed. There was blood all over. I tried to pump him,
hoping that he’ll breathe, but no use. ... The crowd
gathered at the location of accident five minutes later. Some of my friends
arrived at the location, not knowing what happened, but acted instantly by
taking him to the hospital in an auto rickshaw, because they felt that calling
an ambulance at this hour would be a waste of time. I remained at the site and
called Amol’s father about the incident. He told that he will reach the
hospital as soon as possible. Anand came up by then. He and I went to Ranjhi
Police Station to report the incident. All through this time, and for the next
two hours, Amol’s mother kept calling me to get updates on Amol. It was sad, as
no one else apart from me had a mobile phone that day. I kept assuring her that
everything will be alright, and I kept assuring myself as well...
After filing the report and getting me treated (at Victoria
Hospital), I was taken to Marvel City Hospital, where Amol had been admitted,
and was later declared dead. Uncle was present there (to take his body home),
and so was present the whole batch of EC 2010...
All this time, I didn’t make a call at home. I could imagine
the response at home. My father called me around 3 PM to check where I was. I
told him about the accident, and he was shocked to hear that Amol was dead. I
assured him that I was alright and will reach home soon.
One of my friends dropped me home... My mother rushed up to
me and hugged me tight. That instance made me realize how painful it would be
for her, Amol’s mother...
When I had a chance to meet her, she greeted me with a smile... I was told that she hadn't cried, hadn't shred even a single tear... I wasn't sure what I would say to her. My mother tried to talk to her, but she started crying instead... Amol's little brother Pallav kept asking me, "How did it happen? Was that painful? Did he say anything?" Uncle dragged him away, telling him that it wasn't the appropriate time to discuss that... I felt sorry for their loss...
The Bond...
The four of us, were not exactly four, but five...
We used to roam around the city at nights, go for trips to hill stations (Pachmarhi being the favorite spot of all), take part in college events... calm down the fights...and study... I still remember that he came to my home to teach me Maths, when I was bedridden with Jaundice... He was incredible.
With Amol
gone, it wasn’t easy for us to fill it in with someone else. That’s when we found Rashi...
:'(
ReplyDeletei don't knw hw it feels..whn we lost sumbdy...
bt i cn say that pain..is incurable...:(
Amazingly written....a billion accolades for the writer for conveying his feelings so beautifully...
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaya...
Delete:'(
ReplyDelete