Sunday, March 8, 2015

To help save a life…

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(The below post is replicated in entirety from my Facebook page dated February 28. It is an actual incident.)

Something happened today evening on my way back from the office. An accident.

Not mine. A random guy on his bike. Going back home like everyone else.

This happened around 8:00 PM on the Noida extension route, just 200 meters before the Gaur roundabout.

The guy (whom I don’t want to disclose) going back home in Crossings Republic from his IT firm, was driving fine but unluckily could not see and slow down in time for the dirt rubble on the road (probably left behind by one of the many callous trucks and tractors which ply on that route).

End result a bad skid, hit with the pavement and countless injuries. By the time I stopped and reached him, he was lying all covered in blood, with tattered clothes and desperate cries of pain.

Lots of people stopped to help, some to watch but many slowed down, looked but chose to drive off.

Back to their destination, their homes and back to their comfortable lives.

Do you know how real blood looks on the asphalt? It's so red; bloody frightening red. And it was everywhere.

I was there with the others. We helped lift him up and got him in a car for the nearest hospital (bless that driver for having the sense of responsibility and courage).

The bike was a wreck. Me and another random guy (who was on his bike) stayed behind and waited for the cops to turn up. Someone had taken the onus to inform them down the road so that they could come and take care of the vehicle.

So we waited to hand over the same to the cops, who as expected, didn't turn up. In the end, we had to park his bike on the roadside and decided to hand the keys over to the guy himself (whom we expected to have reached the hospital by that time).

This way, we hoped to check on the guy's well-being too. Reaching the nursing home, we found him all clothes torn, swollen up and unable to speak (due to the bandages around his face) and nursing some broken bones. but he was able to identify and acknowledge us.

It seems he would survive an recover, thankfully.

I just reached home a few minutes back. And all along the way back I had but only one thought.

How sudden and unpredictable life is.. and how much dependent we all are for our survival on the virtues of our society, on the mood and courage of our fellow beings!

An incident like this puts many things in perspective. Seeing what is known to all, and happens time and again, I wondered why people don’t have the courage and the heart to stop and help someone in need?

And what was most disheartening was that many of those who moved on, they were those my age, the youth!

We, the ones, who on one hand are responsible for changing conventional mind-sets of our society, who bring in waves of change in politics and what not; and on the other, we still follow the pretend play of closing our eyes and moving on! Such double standards, I ask?

I have never stepped back from my social responsibility and will continue to do so till I can, but will someone stop by for me in my time of need?

With so many instances all around us daily, I cannot help but think that if even 20 people stop to help someone in need daily, 20 lives can be saved in a day!

Think about them, those who can be helped, their families, their future, their lives which would follow thereafter!

I have nothing more to say but this, only if I have the courage today to be selfless, to stop and save someone in need, will someone tomorrow do the same for me.

Think about it.
(sorry for the long rant, but I had to do it)
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