Sakshi: The doer/ witness (2)
The past
It must have been some time post 4pm in the evening, when she woke up in her hall on the sofa. Looked like she had somehow managed to crawl into her home safely. The headache was splitting her head apart. She washed her face and popped a pill to get rid of the headache. Post freshening up ,she went upstairs to her fathers’s room. Shit yaar, he must be upset with me for getting sloshed and sleeping all day long , was the constant thought plying on her mind, as she opened his door. He was not in his room . She looked in the kitchen and the balcony. He was nowhere to be seen. Must have gone out for his walk.
Well let me call him. As she reached out for her phone, she saw a lot of missed calls. There were a couple of unknown numbers, her neighbor and her paternal uncle(chachu) were also there in the list. There was also one missed call from Karan. Looks like the entire world was trying to reach her when she was sloshed. Out of the list, she called her chachu. He was someone who rarely called them . Sensing something could be wrong , she dialed his number first.
The voice at the other end was near hysteric. “Sakshi beta! where in the world have you been, come to Cooper hospital fast, you have no idea how much we tried to reach you” .”What happened chachu. Is chachi alright?” . “It’s not about her, it is about bhaiya. He is in the I.C.U. Someone ran over him today morning”! The words struck her like a thunderbolt and her throat went dry.“ Just come as fast as you can beta.” And the line went dead…
It had been 4 days since her dad was in coma. Sakshi had never seen him so still even in sleep. He was always a bundle of energy. Even post his retirement, he used to involve himself in whatever activity he could and now coudn't even move on his own. Vivid thoughts crossed her mind every now and then.
They say the person gets brain dead in coma. What is the use of such an existence, when one isn’t even aware whether he is alive or dead!. Saddens me to see him in this vegetative state. While I do want my father to recover, if he dosen’t, better it ends here. Can’t see him like this, just can’t!
“They have nabbed the culprit yesterday beta. Is a manager in an MNC. Such an irresponsible fellow. Don’t know what is happening to today’s youth. Was heavily drunk when he ran over your father. Had he stopped , maybe we could have got your father admitted in the golden hour. Let’s go to the station and demand an enquiry. We need to put him behind bars” said her chachu, literally storming into the ICU.
Rage fuelled in her veins. This irresponsible fellow had to be taught an unforgettable lesson. On reaching the police station, they learnt that he had been taken to the court, to be produced before the Judge.“Let’s hurry Chachu, we need to get their before he gets out on bail”. The car zoomed past the busy Mumbai roads . As the car turned around the junction rashly, what her uncle didn’t notice was a young boy playing on the street near what was supposedly his home. The kid was too engrossed playing with the cricket ball that he had not realized where he had strayed. Screech!! The car came to an abrubt halt, the seat belts prevented both of them from banging onto the glass, but Sakshi hurt her head against the car,jolted by the sudden break. The kid fell down screaming and Sakshi very nearly thought he had come under. Her uncle on sensing the situation had maneuvered the car a bit away from the child before applying the breaks and that sudden presence of mind / reflex action prevented what could have easily been another fatal road accident. The car had brushed past the kid instead of running him down . The child was in pain, his parents came rushing out. A crowd gathered.
The mood was very tense. A small word here or there had the potential for a complete violent outbreak against the driver,in this case her uncle. What was surprising was the word that came from the child’s mother.” Maaf karo memsaab , mera dhyan nahi tha. Road koi khelne ki cheez thodi hai. Yeh kab footpath ke bahar nikal gaya pata hi nahi chala”. Sakshi looked at the women amazed. We had nearly killed her son. Instead of reprimanding and demanding money for treatment, here was this women who had acknowledged the root cause of the issue . And even showed the courage to say it. “ Your fault or not, even we are equally to blame . Your child might have strayed in your absence but we had no right to break the speed barrier, however urgent may be the need. The road after all belongs to you as much as to me. Sakshi replied (in Hindi) . “Chachu let’s drop them to the nearby dispensary on the way to the court”. “But beta, we may get late”. “It's ok Chachu, this woman exactly did what dad always said/believed. See the bigger picture in life and you will always become aware of what needs to be addressed/corrected in the long term”.
The court premises were chaotic . There were people everywhere admist a sea of black coats. “Let me check which room he is being produced beta, you wait here” said Chachu. As Sakshi waited, a hand tapped her shoulder”. “Karan! Oh my God, am so happy to see you. You have no clue what has transpired ever since that New year night. My world has turned upside down”. Tears welled up her eyes as her voice started to choke. “Dad is in coma post a road accident and the person who did this to him is somewhere here seeking bail” .
“Am that person Sakshi” . Karan replied . And Sakshi’s world suddenly blanked out…
( to be continued, part 2 of 3)...
It must have been some time post 4pm in the evening, when she woke up in her hall on the sofa. Looked like she had somehow managed to crawl into her home safely. The headache was splitting her head apart. She washed her face and popped a pill to get rid of the headache. Post freshening up ,she went upstairs to her fathers’s room. Shit yaar, he must be upset with me for getting sloshed and sleeping all day long , was the constant thought plying on her mind, as she opened his door. He was not in his room . She looked in the kitchen and the balcony. He was nowhere to be seen. Must have gone out for his walk.
Well let me call him. As she reached out for her phone, she saw a lot of missed calls. There were a couple of unknown numbers, her neighbor and her paternal uncle(chachu) were also there in the list. There was also one missed call from Karan. Looks like the entire world was trying to reach her when she was sloshed. Out of the list, she called her chachu. He was someone who rarely called them . Sensing something could be wrong , she dialed his number first.
The voice at the other end was near hysteric. “Sakshi beta! where in the world have you been, come to Cooper hospital fast, you have no idea how much we tried to reach you” .”What happened chachu. Is chachi alright?” . “It’s not about her, it is about bhaiya. He is in the I.C.U. Someone ran over him today morning”! The words struck her like a thunderbolt and her throat went dry.“ Just come as fast as you can beta.” And the line went dead…
It had been 4 days since her dad was in coma. Sakshi had never seen him so still even in sleep. He was always a bundle of energy. Even post his retirement, he used to involve himself in whatever activity he could and now coudn't even move on his own. Vivid thoughts crossed her mind every now and then.
They say the person gets brain dead in coma. What is the use of such an existence, when one isn’t even aware whether he is alive or dead!. Saddens me to see him in this vegetative state. While I do want my father to recover, if he dosen’t, better it ends here. Can’t see him like this, just can’t!
“They have nabbed the culprit yesterday beta. Is a manager in an MNC. Such an irresponsible fellow. Don’t know what is happening to today’s youth. Was heavily drunk when he ran over your father. Had he stopped , maybe we could have got your father admitted in the golden hour. Let’s go to the station and demand an enquiry. We need to put him behind bars” said her chachu, literally storming into the ICU.
Rage fuelled in her veins. This irresponsible fellow had to be taught an unforgettable lesson. On reaching the police station, they learnt that he had been taken to the court, to be produced before the Judge.“Let’s hurry Chachu, we need to get their before he gets out on bail”. The car zoomed past the busy Mumbai roads . As the car turned around the junction rashly, what her uncle didn’t notice was a young boy playing on the street near what was supposedly his home. The kid was too engrossed playing with the cricket ball that he had not realized where he had strayed. Screech!! The car came to an abrubt halt, the seat belts prevented both of them from banging onto the glass, but Sakshi hurt her head against the car,jolted by the sudden break. The kid fell down screaming and Sakshi very nearly thought he had come under. Her uncle on sensing the situation had maneuvered the car a bit away from the child before applying the breaks and that sudden presence of mind / reflex action prevented what could have easily been another fatal road accident. The car had brushed past the kid instead of running him down . The child was in pain, his parents came rushing out. A crowd gathered.
The mood was very tense. A small word here or there had the potential for a complete violent outbreak against the driver,in this case her uncle. What was surprising was the word that came from the child’s mother.” Maaf karo memsaab , mera dhyan nahi tha. Road koi khelne ki cheez thodi hai. Yeh kab footpath ke bahar nikal gaya pata hi nahi chala”. Sakshi looked at the women amazed. We had nearly killed her son. Instead of reprimanding and demanding money for treatment, here was this women who had acknowledged the root cause of the issue . And even showed the courage to say it. “ Your fault or not, even we are equally to blame . Your child might have strayed in your absence but we had no right to break the speed barrier, however urgent may be the need. The road after all belongs to you as much as to me. Sakshi replied (in Hindi) . “Chachu let’s drop them to the nearby dispensary on the way to the court”. “But beta, we may get late”. “It's ok Chachu, this woman exactly did what dad always said/believed. See the bigger picture in life and you will always become aware of what needs to be addressed/corrected in the long term”.
The court premises were chaotic . There were people everywhere admist a sea of black coats. “Let me check which room he is being produced beta, you wait here” said Chachu. As Sakshi waited, a hand tapped her shoulder”. “Karan! Oh my God, am so happy to see you. You have no clue what has transpired ever since that New year night. My world has turned upside down”. Tears welled up her eyes as her voice started to choke. “Dad is in coma post a road accident and the person who did this to him is somewhere here seeking bail” .
“Am that person Sakshi” . Karan replied . And Sakshi’s world suddenly blanked out…
( to be continued, part 2 of 3)...
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