So.. an accident in Orissa!

   Orissa has bestowed me a series of learnings and experiences over the last one year… And this time it’s an experience in the form an accident. It was interesting yesterday night to see how wits and inherent instincts of people still work even in a moment of shock :) .

    At 11:30 PM, suddenly everyone woke up from deep sleep only to find that the bus has hit a tree about 5 meters off the road. Reason being, the front tire below driver’s seat burst with a huge sound when the bus was taking a turn at a speed of around 50 kmph and the driver lost control!! In panic, everyone rushed to get down the bus as it was already tilted at an angle of 20 to 30 degrees.The fun started after everyone got down the bus.. 

  So the actions and reactions of people were like this… (‘P’ stands for Passenger) 

P1 on phone(Strangely the mobile reception was working even though we were nowhere near a town): “That was a big accident, most of the people are hurt (exaggerated!! not even 10 were hurt with very minor injuries) but I”M OK!”

P2 and P3(Went around the bus with the help of mobile phone light): And started the analysis that the bus would’ve done a somersault if the tree was not there… They looked at the other side of road which had (very)small valley and started predicting the situation if this was a GHAT ROAD (Bhwanipatna-Berhampur route does have a ghat section ahead of this point)..

P-X to P-Z started giving their own explanations of why and how it happened and the driver started giving his own version of it. No one would agree for the other’s perception. There were laughs and comments in the darkness with a pride of being associated with such an accident and most importantly being the survivors of such an incident.

Finally the passengers of this OSRTC so-called hi-tech bus got into next two private buses that were on the same way. Even though few claimed that ladies and kids were given priority to go in first bus, I hardly saw any such initiative there. Initiative of pushing them to go first (being proactive) or just be there till they get in (if you don’t want to do it by yourself but want it to happen).. 

  And the above is what I’ve done..

So, are we selfish and seek attention of others in any kind of situation? And think about a media guy who reports this situation to the WORLD…  :)!! 

P.S: All this happened by 12:45 AM before everyone got into other buses and the bus staff, deserted bus were left there till they get a tractor to get the bus out of the site.

Keep Sailing..!!

Freedom….

   Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

  So, what stops us from doing the things that we really want to? Why do we stay glued to the ‘Safe harbor’ instead of keep sailing? Everyone would have their own reason/excuse for these questions… But, does Mark Twain know us? Why did he state this as if he’s seeing us today?

   With due respect to him and his literary work, let’s try to imagine a day after twenty years and what we will be … It could be difficult to do so but we are capable of imagining as much as we can :) .. and then, rest is left to you…!

  And I still remember July 9th, 2010 when I quit my job in Infosys and quoted lines from Ravindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali in my last day mail for the same reason of Freedom and Life & after an year I feel, I had been truthful to myself in my journey and decisions… Once again the magical words of Tagore here:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; 

Where knowledge is free; 

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; 

Where words come out from the depth of truth; 

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; 

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; 

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action—

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

    Will we ever be able to forgive ourselves after twenty years if you think about this FREEDOM? Incidentally, I was reading my co-fellow Nitesh’s blog today morning and I’m glad to see a similar expression there…

Live the life large scale without restrictions! Keep sailing!! Never regret!!!