Sakshi: The witness (1)
Fourth day and still no signs of movement. The flicker on the screen was proof that the heart was alive but then the body just didn’t seem to realise it.
The present
It was 2:30 am. Sakshi had just got her last cup of coffee for the night. Usually she used to get late. But today work was at its peak. It was a night of celebration. Mumbai Indians, the local cricket team had won the cricket IPL (Indian premiere league) T20 trophy for the first time. Party was in the air and thus being the founder of a successful start up, that dealt with driver service for party animals , their phone had not stopped ringing since late evening . While business was on the rise , she was still maintaining a tight back office workforce to curtail expenses. This eventually led Sakshi herself routing/answering calls for assistance during hi-traffic days.
Water drops had slightly begun to trickle down the glass façade of her cabin as a ping popped on their assistance app. Another driver request by a partygoer !.The request had location details of a pick up, a famous pub in Bandra. The time requested was immediate and the name read- Karan Khanna. That name rang a bell in her memory. Was rather a painful one.
The past
Sakshi still remembered the night clearly. After all it was the night when the entire world partied- New years eve. Any given night of the year , Bandra in Mumbai is always a popular party hotspot ,but this time the scale had just gone up . The state government,buckling under popular pressure had lifted the time restrictions on bars and pubs that night, which meant the partygoers could party till the wee hours of the morning. So the mood was upbeat. Lot of people who usually left the city before New year, actually stayed back. The experience of non-stop partying in Mumbai till the wee hours of the morning, was a nostalgia which most of them wanted to revive. Something that the younger generation also wanted to experience.
“Won’t be late papa. Will come by 1am max”. Sakshi cajoled her father. Not that she had too. But then their bond was more than special. Sakshi had lost her mom when she was barely nine years old. Well he was the one who had bought her up single handedly both as a mother and father. He was the witness to her growing years, her aspirations, break-ups, struggles, tantrums and finally the realization of her dreams. After all he was very much responsible for the proud tag that Sakshi wore on her sleeves of a successful general manager of a tech firm.
“You don’t have to convince me sweetheart! Know you will be safe . And yes don’t worry about me. Take your time. After all this is the party you deserve. Don’t know when was the last time you went out, all because of me…”. His voice began to trail off. “Well papa while I was growing up, you ensured that I never miss mom. Now it is my turn to ensure you don’t miss her too”!. Sakshi gave him a fond hug. He had never been this emotional. Post retirement in the initial years he was the most active one in their colony. But then slowly as time passed he developed a sense of loneliness that only a companion could replace. The fact that Sakshi had not married and preferred to take care of him , had also created a factor of unwarranted guilt in him. Sakshi had tried reasoning that this was her choice , but no avail.
“ Well Sakshi if you really mean that, then you also need to keep me happy by listening to me. I can take care of myself tonight. Want you to enjoy yourself and even party for me . Am ok. Your friends must be waiting . Go now your dad is old, need to sleep else won’t get it”. He said with a wink in his eye. “Bye dad and Happy new year”, she wished him. “ A very happy new year to you too beta. Always see the bigger picture and may your life find new meaning this coming year” he said, kissing her head. Sakshi rushed out holding back her emotions. Her friends were waiting and the venue was at least an hour away.
That night Sakshi had the time of her life. They had been to a beach party at a bungalow near the beach. The awesome décor,cool breeze,the lovely music,amazing food,it was just perfect. Drinks flowed amid the dancing and it was not much before the clock struck 5 am. All her friends were heavily drunk and so was Sakshi. Somehow she recollected it was way past her usual time and that she needed to get home.
“Get up Karan, need to get home fast. Just get me a cab yaar, will manage.” she said, waking up her boyfriend who was half asleep on the bar counter. “No ways, am dropping you baby. Can handle this,plus their won’t be much traffic now. Let me just go to the washroom , you will be safe with me”. Karan remarked. Sakshi had not booked a cab. Even if she managed to get one, she wasn’t feeling confident in travelling alone, as her head was starting to get heavy. So she gave in. What should have ideally taken ten minutes took them twenty. Karan dropped the keys twice before he could even open the door. “Don’t worry yaar. Just that there was water in my hands. Am not sloshed” he said , trying to comfort her.
Sakshi got into the back seat and just dozed off. The clock in the car faded out to 5:30 in front of her eyes.
What an existence this is. Should never happen to a person. The body just doesn’t respond. The senses are neither completely dead nor alive. No wonder they call it coma. But then there was someone responsible for this. But who?... -to be contd...(part1 of 3)
The present
It was 2:30 am. Sakshi had just got her last cup of coffee for the night. Usually she used to get late. But today work was at its peak. It was a night of celebration. Mumbai Indians, the local cricket team had won the cricket IPL (Indian premiere league) T20 trophy for the first time. Party was in the air and thus being the founder of a successful start up, that dealt with driver service for party animals , their phone had not stopped ringing since late evening . While business was on the rise , she was still maintaining a tight back office workforce to curtail expenses. This eventually led Sakshi herself routing/answering calls for assistance during hi-traffic days.
Water drops had slightly begun to trickle down the glass façade of her cabin as a ping popped on their assistance app. Another driver request by a partygoer !.The request had location details of a pick up, a famous pub in Bandra. The time requested was immediate and the name read- Karan Khanna. That name rang a bell in her memory. Was rather a painful one.
The past
Sakshi still remembered the night clearly. After all it was the night when the entire world partied- New years eve. Any given night of the year , Bandra in Mumbai is always a popular party hotspot ,but this time the scale had just gone up . The state government,buckling under popular pressure had lifted the time restrictions on bars and pubs that night, which meant the partygoers could party till the wee hours of the morning. So the mood was upbeat. Lot of people who usually left the city before New year, actually stayed back. The experience of non-stop partying in Mumbai till the wee hours of the morning, was a nostalgia which most of them wanted to revive. Something that the younger generation also wanted to experience.
“Won’t be late papa. Will come by 1am max”. Sakshi cajoled her father. Not that she had too. But then their bond was more than special. Sakshi had lost her mom when she was barely nine years old. Well he was the one who had bought her up single handedly both as a mother and father. He was the witness to her growing years, her aspirations, break-ups, struggles, tantrums and finally the realization of her dreams. After all he was very much responsible for the proud tag that Sakshi wore on her sleeves of a successful general manager of a tech firm.
“You don’t have to convince me sweetheart! Know you will be safe . And yes don’t worry about me. Take your time. After all this is the party you deserve. Don’t know when was the last time you went out, all because of me…”. His voice began to trail off. “Well papa while I was growing up, you ensured that I never miss mom. Now it is my turn to ensure you don’t miss her too”!. Sakshi gave him a fond hug. He had never been this emotional. Post retirement in the initial years he was the most active one in their colony. But then slowly as time passed he developed a sense of loneliness that only a companion could replace. The fact that Sakshi had not married and preferred to take care of him , had also created a factor of unwarranted guilt in him. Sakshi had tried reasoning that this was her choice , but no avail.
“ Well Sakshi if you really mean that, then you also need to keep me happy by listening to me. I can take care of myself tonight. Want you to enjoy yourself and even party for me . Am ok. Your friends must be waiting . Go now your dad is old, need to sleep else won’t get it”. He said with a wink in his eye. “Bye dad and Happy new year”, she wished him. “ A very happy new year to you too beta. Always see the bigger picture and may your life find new meaning this coming year” he said, kissing her head. Sakshi rushed out holding back her emotions. Her friends were waiting and the venue was at least an hour away.
That night Sakshi had the time of her life. They had been to a beach party at a bungalow near the beach. The awesome décor,cool breeze,the lovely music,amazing food,it was just perfect. Drinks flowed amid the dancing and it was not much before the clock struck 5 am. All her friends were heavily drunk and so was Sakshi. Somehow she recollected it was way past her usual time and that she needed to get home.
“Get up Karan, need to get home fast. Just get me a cab yaar, will manage.” she said, waking up her boyfriend who was half asleep on the bar counter. “No ways, am dropping you baby. Can handle this,plus their won’t be much traffic now. Let me just go to the washroom , you will be safe with me”. Karan remarked. Sakshi had not booked a cab. Even if she managed to get one, she wasn’t feeling confident in travelling alone, as her head was starting to get heavy. So she gave in. What should have ideally taken ten minutes took them twenty. Karan dropped the keys twice before he could even open the door. “Don’t worry yaar. Just that there was water in my hands. Am not sloshed” he said , trying to comfort her.
Sakshi got into the back seat and just dozed off. The clock in the car faded out to 5:30 in front of her eyes.
What an existence this is. Should never happen to a person. The body just doesn’t respond. The senses are neither completely dead nor alive. No wonder they call it coma. But then there was someone responsible for this. But who?... -to be contd...(part1 of 3)
Comments