After a back breaking overnight bus ride from Jorhat, we had finally
reached Guwahati. The marmalade skies during May were turning grey.
Amma, Appa, Shreyas and I moved to 240 Transit Camp. The building is a
colossal structure right next to the Guwahati railway station. Back in
1995, anyone travelling to any other part of the country by train would
catch a train from Guwahati. Officers from the Indian Air Force and Army
posted in the Far east Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur,
Arunanchal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland and Mizoram had to pass through
the city of Guwahati before heading to their respective units. The
officers and their families stay at the Transit Camp that has basic
accommodation and serves food. We checked into a room on the 8th Floor
that gave me a splendid view of the city.
Our train would
start next morning. With over 24 hours on our hands, Appa decided that
we should explore the city. The famous Kamakhiya temple would be our
first stop. Amma said,” Go take a shower and then let’s go for
breakfast. Our room had one bathroom and to save time, I went to the
common bathroom at the end of the corridor.
After a quick
shower, we all went to the dining area for breakfast. Appa had Shreyas
tucked under his one arm and his bowl of Cerelac in the other. 18 month
old Shreyas was a handful and he was loud. Other families sitting in the
dining area were giving us steely glances from the corner of their
eyes.
Any hopes of heading out after breakfast was dashed. The
grey skies had given way to heavy downpour. We headed back to our room. I
picked up the Famous Five book from my stash of reading material and
got reading. Meanwhile, Shreyas had finished his morning ablutions and
we had run out of diapers for him. Appa headed out in the torrential
rain to buy the diapers.
By 10 AM, the rains had stopped.
Amma stepped out to the Dining area to sterilise Shreyas’ feeding
bottle. On her way to the dining area, Amma went to the common bathroom
area to wash some of the stained clothes of Shreyas. The common bathroom
had rows of cubicles of shower on one side and taps for washing on the
other side. Amma finished washing the clothes and was heading out when
she heard a pained growl from one of the cubicles. There stood a man
stepping out of the cubicle with a heavily bandaged head and multiple
bandages across his forearms and torso. He made eye contact with amma
and darted back into the cubicle and creaky latch snapped back.
Amma
was stupefied by what she saw. On our way back, she passed one of the
many rooms in the corridor. One of the door along the corridor was ajar
and she heard a lady sobbing loudly and heard her cries for help in Tamil, “Aandava !! Epidi aayidute. Ippo naan enne pannuvaen!” (
Oh Lord ! What has happened to us ! Now what will I do? ) Judging from
the accent of Tamil, Amma figured she was speaking Tamil with our Palakkad accent.
She peeped into the room and saw a young women bent over the side of
the bed. Amma entered the room and started speaking to her.
“What happened? Why are you crying?!” asked Amma
“My husband is dying and I don’t what to do.” She said.
“ Dying ? Where is he ?! Is he with a doctor?”
At
this moment, a man walked into the room. As Amma recollects, the man
was startled by her presence. The lady points in the direction of the
man, “There. That’s my husband.”
Amma went to the table in
the room and poured some water into the glass and gave it to the lady.
The lady sipped water and took breaks to sob in between. The man was a
dark man standing well over 6 feet. Amma had seen him moments ago in the
bathroom. He had a heavily bandaged head and lots of gashes on the
face. He murmured something and sat on the bed next to his wife.
By now, Amma regained her composure and said, “Both of you wait right here. I’ll be back with my husband." She returned to the room and looked panicky. I asked, “Amma.. Enne aachu?” ( Mother.. what happened?)
“Nothing
Sid. You be here and take care of Shreyas in case he wakes up. I’ll be
in room next to us. Let me know when Appa is back.”
I
wasn’t sure what to make of this situation. She hung the washed clothes
on armrest of the chair and left the room. Appa returned in what seemed
to be like an eternity clutching the diaper packet in this hand.
“ Where is Amma?”
“She’s in the next room talking to someone. I’ll go get her.”
I
walked over to the next room and saw Amma consoling the lady while the
man was prostrate on the bed. I had never seen a man with so many
injuries and bandages in my life. Amma quickly realized that I was
scandalized by the whole scene.
“Has Appa come back?”
“Yes Amma. He’s back and I came to call you.”
Amma
took me by the hand and we left the room. I was only 11 then. However,
the image of the heavily bandaged man is vividly clear in my head till
today. We reached back to our room and Shreyas was wailing loudly. Appa
took him in his arms and patted his back. He could sense that Amma was
testy and worried. He asked her, “What happened?”
“There
is a couple in the next room. The man has a lot of injuries and
bandages. They are taking the same train as us tomorrow morning. I’m not
a doctor but I’m certain that they wouldn’t be able to travel tomorrow
by train. The man’s sister is getting married in four days.”
Appa
lay Shreyas onto the bed and walked over the next room. I followed
Appa. Excited, worried and curious, I could feel the adrenaline rush
through my body. He asked the lady, “Ma’am. My wife is the next room. Why don’t you go talk to her.”
“Sid. Take aunty with you.”
I wanted to be there to listen to the man’s story. Nevertheless, the lady walked towards me and I walked with her to our room.
Appa introduced himself, “I’m Squadron Leader S. Harshavardhan. Have you seen a doctor yet?”
“Sir, I’m Flight Lieutenant Raj.”
“How did this happen?”
“ Sir..
My wife and I were on our way to Kamakhiya temple this morning in a
rickshaw. A young boy came out of nowhere and tried snatching my wife’s
Mangalsutra ( a married woman’s necklace ) I caught hold of him and
tried to push him. We both fell from the rickshaw. He took out a small
knife and stabbed me.” He lifted his blood stained T Shirt and
showed his bandage around his abdomen. The gauze and bandage were
saturated in crimson.
“ The doctor has bandaged you. But you are bleeding even now.”
“Sir. I didn’t go to a doctor. I went to the pharmacy store near railway station and asked my wife to clean my wounds.”
Appa was livid. “Are
you crazy? You are educated man. Let’s go to Army Hospital. I will get
the Jonga ( an indigenous 4 wheel drive for the Indian Army ). Let’s go.
“No
Sir. I don’t wish to see a doctor. They will admit me. I will miss my
sister’s wedding in Madras and the doctor will get me grounded.”
For
those not familiar with Indian Air Force policies, a pilot getting
grounded is akin to a bird getting its wings clipped or a man losing his
limbs. He was stubborn to say the least.
“Raj ! This
is an order. Now get up and let’s go meet a doctor. I will ensure you
don’t get grounded and I will have you and your wife fly to Madras.”
Appa
wasn’t even certain whether Flight Lieutenant Raj would fly again. IAF
has always demanded their staff in the best of health. Pilots who are
not fit do get transferred to Ground Duties. He got a Jonga and the
driver drove Appa and Flight Lieutenant Raj to the Army hospital nearby
for first aid. Then, he left for the nearest Air Force Station in
Guwahati. He booked Indian Airlines tickets for the couple.
He
rushed back to the hospital and ensured Flight Lieutenant Raj got
discharged. Appa and Flight Lieutenant came back to our room. I saw some
blood stains on Appa Shirt and got worried.
“Ma’am.. I
have booked flight ticket in Indian Airlines for both of you. The
flight leaves in three hours. My wife will help you pack your bags.”
Flight Lieutenant Raj was quite groggy. He stumbled his way to his wife and hugged her.
“Sir! I don’t know how to thank you and Ma'am.”
He looked at Amma with folded hands, “ Neenga Deiyvam maadri vanthuirrukael.” ( Both of you are God sent )
Appa told him, “Raj .. You can thank us later. Get ready to leave lest you miss you flight and your sister’s wedding.”
He asked Appa for his contact number and our address in Madras. They exchanged phone numbers and We all went to see them off in Jonga.
We
took our train next morning and reached Madras after a gruelling 60
hour train journey across 5 states. We were greeted by my uncles, aunts
and cousins in Madras. They were seeing Shreyas for the first time and
everyone was excited to hold the baby cousin. Later that evening during
dinner, Appa recounted the whole incident that happened.”
What
I didn’t know until much later was that the doctor at the Army hospital
had insisted Flight Lieutenant Raj to be admitted and kept under
observation for 48 hours. This would have meant that he missed his
sister’s wedding and the possibility of him getting grounded from
flying. Appa knew some people in the hospital and pulled some strings to
get him out of the hospital. It was a huge risk. But Appa knew what he
had to do.
Back in 1995, there were no ATM machines and
flight tickets were very expensive. With the money he had, he booked a
one way ticket to Madras via Calcutta for the couple. What I didn’t know
was that after booking tickets, he had less INR 500 in his pocket and
the bank wouldn’t open until next day. The 4 of us travelled with less
than INR 500 in my dad’s pocket.
Years went by. Appa got
transferred to New Delhi later that year and we moved with him. Appa was
part of the Air Staff inspection team that visited various air bases in
India. During one of his visits to Defence Services Staff College in
Wellington, Appa met Flight Lieutenant Raj. Now, he was Squadron Leader
Raj. He fell on the ground and touched Appa’s feet.
Appa was rather startled and didn’t know how to react.
“Sir ! You saved my life and my flying career. I’m here today because of you. He had tears in his eyes.”
My
Appa has always been my hero. Years later I asked him why he went out
of the way to help a complete stranger. He looked me in the eye, “ Sid. This could have happened to us. Wouldn’t you have liked if someone helped us.”
This incident reaffirmed my faith in humanity. Hope, Kindness and joy are still prevalent in our lives.
