A marriage and a death

So much has happened. The Cricket World Cup is over. Aiswarya's marriage is over. I have also moved into my new home and am slowly settling in. Fortunately much of the infrastructure is up and running. I am writing this post after my friend Shaji's request to do something about the blog after it had been showing the "The little bird that flew in..." on the front page for weeks. I will also be writing about that game (why shouldn't I say the overly hyped game of cricket in this country) very soon. But meanwhile here is something else I wanted to write about.

It happened on the day Aiswarya and Abishek Bachan were getting married in fact at around the same time on their wedding day. As I was returning from the site where my new home was being completed I noticed that the bypass from the Old Mahabalipuram Road to the Taramani link road that leads to Velachery was already being jammed with traffic. As more vehicles started entering the road it was getting worse. At first I was under the impression that the folks returning home from offices were causing the commotion or maybe some big vehicles were using the notorious U turn that is being temporarily created after traffic is made to take a diversion into the bypass road. I was right but thanks to my Honda Activa I could easily manouver and meander through the heavy traffic and continue beyound the U turn without much hassles. But ahead I saw a big crowd all gathered in a very unusual fashion. My worst fears were confirmed. Somone had been hit and there had been an accident. Traffic was being diverted on to the side of the road and we (most of us two-wheelers) were riding towards oncoming traffic. Somehow the bigger vehicles had been held up much farther ahead and we could pass through freely. Just at the point where the crowd was dense I realised they were intensely looking at something as though some spectaculor feat was being performed. As I rode past I knew something even worse had happened. I could hear people talking that someone had been killed. I asked some folks and they say the rider was hit by the hight tension electric wire that had snapped when a truck with a taller load had struck the wire snapping it. Riding past the spot I decided I'd just give a quick glance. In a fraction of a second I turned away when I saw so much red on the road on the other side that made my heart stop. It looked as though the person had bled to death. All my life I have avoided seeing such stuff all my life not with the feeling of not willing to help but I don't have the heart to take it. In that fraction of a second that I seemed to catch a glimpse of all that red there was both fear, gratitude, remorse and so much of other emotions all happening to me at the same instant.

Many were walking as though some dog or cat or other road-kill had taken place. I could see IT professionals walk out of the buildings leaving work all glee and happy looking forward to the weekend. No one even seemed to care. Then there are the others all standing around and looking at the body like a spectacle. Remember even when Jesus was being killed there were these kind of people looking at the entire process like entertainment. Maybe this is why the gladiatoral fights were so popular. Am I to believe they all are looking at the dead man with remorse thinking of his family and such. A death as this is truly something they don't get to see and so why not enjoy it while they can. On more enquiry I came to know that the pillion (the guy who sits behind the biker) was the one who perished. The live wire snapped his throat and even blew off something at the rear of his head. The biker survived. The news of this death was in "The Hindu" after two days. How unfortunate that his family had to lose someone in this fashion.

Who are the unfortunate ones that lose life like this. Like Sting sang "...how fragile we are" How many people die like this everyday making me feel how blessed I am for every waking hour of my life. My prayers go out for these people. May their souls rest in peace. As I go past the electric wire on that road almost everyday I am glad that I wasn't the victim on that fateful day. Back at home as I switch on the T.V that is showing poor footage of Aiswarya's marriage on almost every news channed I cannot help the irony of both the events. How incredible God made this earthly sojourn to be.