Saturday, April 17, 2010

Life is Beautiful

Suddenly there was a loud noise and then everything was calm. It must have been fraction of a second but I still remember everything; as if my mind had taken a snapshot of that moment. Front seat of my vehicle had tilted backwards and my legs were trapped. The glass on the back side was shattered and there was dust all around.

So there I was going to a block on a routine inspection. Newly built highway was inviting and soon our vehicle crossed the speed of the three digit mark. I was enjoying the scenery of Buxa Tiger Reserve talking to S who had come on training in my subdivision and it was just any other day; but then it turned out it was not.

From the last few days there were numerous articles in the newspapers showing violations of traffic norms in my area. Particularly irritating were buses having scores of passengers sitting on its top. Ideally these checks are conducted by police and Motor Vehicle departments but at times enthusiastic SDO’s also do these.

At a distance, we saw a bus coming towards us and it had persons sitting on its top. In a strange fit of enthusiasm I asked my driver to signal it to stop. The bus did not pay heed and crossed past us. That was when it all began.

I asked my driver to stop and was telling him to note down its number and suddenly there was a big jerk along with a deafening noise. My driver had stopped; but what he probably missed was that behind us there was another vehicle speeding on the highway; and it was not able to replicate our action.

There was dust all around and we were trying to reconcile with what had happened. Luckily none of us was hurt barring a few minor bruises. Scorpio is a sturdy vehicle and it had absorbed all the shock. S still maintains that we must have been cursed by the vehicles on which I had imposed fines.

Whenever I look back, I cannot resist thinking why that happened. I should not have tried to stop that vehicle on highway, my driver should not have stopped on road, and the vehicle coming behind us should have maintained a distance. Anyway, that is not worth dwelling upon.

As I stood there trying to figure out our injuries, the first thoughts that crossed my mind were of my wife and family. Never in that half an hour did I think of the unfinished work lying on my table. So, though, many times we get lost in our work, we should never forget for whom we are working for.

I also felt the transient nature of our existence. Life can go in flash of a second and we may not even know. I felt a strange pain for that Scorpio. It was a beautiful new vehicle and after that incident, its beauty was suddenly gone. We thanked God that we did not meet a similar fate.

Standing on that road, waiting for some other vehicle to pick us up, I also realized that being alive is a wonderful feeling. I feel bliss when I breathe the fresh air, when I see the green bushes of Tea Gardens and the colorful mountain stretches beyond them in Bhutan. I also I feel bliss when I write this, when I wait for your comments on my blog, and when my wife teases that I am just another ordinary writer.

Life is Beautiful. Indeed!

16 comments:

Satwant Khanalia said...

interesting read...and no, you are not at all bad as a writer, as they say in French: "pas mal du tout". On the subject of life is beautiful, I would recommend the film 'A Single Man' for which Colin Firth got an Oscar nomination this year. Its a very insightful and interesting take on the subject...

Rahul kumar jha said...

So nicely written ,especially the clincher line was
"So though many times we get lost in our work, we should never forget for whom we are working for."
Be enthusiastic and not reckless
and be safe than sorry . :).

Adarsh Shekhar said...

very nicely written.
And yeah.. Life is indeed beautiful :)

vikram singh said...

thank God that you are good after all that shocker....and I dont know abt others but I definitely keep waiting for your posts more than I wait for someones phone call...your posts always leave us asking for more...last week I had one interview for an IIM, and half of the time we discussed your blog and convinced the profs to blog too :)
and then I got a call from one of my uncle who is a principal secretary...and I felt the difference... you guys are more than just ordinary ... keep writing..thanks 4 your time :)

Just Simple said...

@Satwant: Thanks :)

I am unable to find that movie on torrentz :(

@Rahul: Certainly, now I appreciate better be safe than sorry

@Adarsh: Thanks, the feeling is mutual :)

@Vikram: Thanks for thinking us more than ordinary :)

I think IAS may be most criticized and most revered service

A_Single_Man said...

if you havn't got the movie yet then this is the torrent
http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/182860313/A+Single+Man?tab=summary

PS: its not ethical to download the movies from torrent...but we all come from Hostels, Right! :P

Shwetank said...

A great post(again)! We take all that we have for granted and waste so much of time wishing that we had more. Such incidents help us in realizing the bigger picture.

arun said...

Loved the post

dewstar.kiruba said...

Hai Sir,
This is the first blog that I read ..And your writings were much insightful..So I read all your other blogs..the articles about Bharat Darshan were
the most inspiring and I realized the conditions of people in the every corner of India...

prerna said...

what is good about the life is beautiful experience is that you are still alive to talk about the incident...and i pitty the scorpio..

Knikhil Bhaskar said...

Sir, today is the first time I read your blog....I loved it and believe me, you aren't an ordinary writer but there was one line that caught my attention:

"So, though, many times we get lost in our work, we should never forget for whom we are working for."

no offence but I will be honest. Should it not be 'living for' instead?

Looking forward to new posts.

Robin Bhakhan said...

found ur blog on net. must tell u, you have an interesting style of writing. A good narration.

Keep Sharing. Keep Smiling! :)

Shwetank said...

Simple yet an awesome post again! I really am a big fan of your blog. And you are not just an ordinary writer. You are good!

Vish said...

Anurag ,I Chanced upon your blog and made a point to read it as and when i can.

You should consider writing a book soon, for your writing touches very the core.

Expecting regular posts from you and certainly not like the one here.

Good luck

Vish said...

Anurag , i chanced upon your blog it is wonderfully written, simple yet striking!.I made a point to read it as and when possible.

You should consider writing some book soon.

Expecting more posts from you.

Best wishes to you

lamikayty said...

True true true...life is beautiful!