Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Afterlife...

Twice in my life, I thought I was going to die. I remember those days vividly... not the date and time, or the clothes that I was wearing or those of others involved... Just the event and what was running in my mind.

I was probably studying in II Std... My cousin's family was going out on a trip to Mysore, Brindavan gardens, Jog falls and areas around there. I went along... We were standing on the banks of the river(the name I don't recall...). We were standing on the rocks along the shore...the cold water climbed the rocks the lick our feet and receded slowly... I have no idea how I slipped. And straight into the cold waters I went. I panicked. I had no idea how to swim! I tried to come above the water... It wasn't too deep, but somehow I was just not able to. I knew I was bobbing up and down below the water, and was moving towards the deeper side. As I watched the bubbles from my mouth escape through the surface, the only thought that crossed my mind was "This is it. I am over..." One of my older cousins had the presence of mind to give me a hand and pull me up. Thanks to her. I am breathing today!

The second incident was more recent... We were had gone to Wonder La, an amusement park in Bangalore. There was this ride called "Insanity". I got onto it and locked myself in my seat... It was the first time I was taking one of those rides and I wasn't exactly sure how the locking mechanism worked. The supervisor didn't come to check the safety latch, and the ride commenced. As the seats were moving in all possible directions, I could hear my seat making creaking noises... and I was sure that the lock would give way and I would come hurtling to the floor. "I am going to die... "... this was the only thing I thought through the ride. Once it was over, I got off to safety... I learnt that there was an electronic locking mechanism apart from the mechanical one. So it was rather fool-proof and I had worried without reason...

About a month ago, (on 26th Nov, 2008 to be more precise), hundreds of people lost their lives to the madness of 10 men who had no independence in thought or action... I can only think of the two times in my life that I thought I was going to die...

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Impact analysis

He was rolling on the ground... stood up, dusted himself, picked up his stuff and started walking.

All that caught me was the white shirt with the patch... not the fall, not the recovery... just the impact...