Tuesday, April 01, 2008

An year to Heaven



Its been exactly an year since my maternal grands passed away. But the event still shakes me to the core. When a relative talks about it in passing, it still gives me goose bumps. When people talk about it in family gathering, I wither away like a flower. The energy drains out of me and I just become a mute spectator. I do not add any fuel to an engulfing and evergreen topic. There is something about the whole thing that is so tragic, that makes you shout out ‘oh no, oh no, this isn’t the way its supposed to end’ if you are watching it all happening on a movie screen. Too much sadness just shuts my mouth.

When I visited the accident spot in Dec last year, my whole being transported itself to that fateful day, in that stifling afternoon heat. The huge screeching sound that the car would have made, and the thunderous somersault with a deafening, heart-stopping thud. Ajji’s body ripped out of the car with a knife-like-steel rod pierced deep into her forehead, blood gushing out from her in buckets, glass pieces everywhere, people shouting, baby crying, my uncle dazed with bruised head, thatha collapsing on the road, aunty shouting for help with broken leg. Aaaaahhh…its too painful, much too painful even to collage the scene after an year.

A Telugu newspaper had carried a snap of the upturned car on the road. In front of the car, there was a huge idol of God with clasped hands. It was as if He approved of whatever happened in front of him, albeit the unnatural setting, and saluted them off.

I had written a post on driving. But nothing beats the just-learned driving skills of my cousin Madhwesh who had to drive 30 odd kilometers in the other car to Tirupati immediately after the accident to take thatha to a hospital possibly to save his life. With no learned driver to guide him, with mind in absolute tatters what with having seen ajji’s gory dead body, with tearful eyes and leaden heart, and with a faint hope of saving thatha’s life, 30 odd kms would have seemed like an eternity, and one cannot imagine the amount of concentration that would have gone into such a simple task as driving a car. My hats off to him…to me, it is one of the toughest drives ever. But alas, thatha had passed away even before he was laid to rest inside the car.

We stayed there on the accident spot for as long as we could, sucking in each moment of the event, to be as near to the departed as possible. But then, the fact always hit the gut that it was all indeed over. Death comes as the end. Naturally or unnaturally.

It is said that the soul takes an year to reach heaven. I hope the journey was smoother than the start…


5 comments:

NR said...

Sad!!! May their souls rest in peace...

Madhwesh said...

it's quite unbelievable how an year passed by, everythins still so fresh in my mind!

but tis one incident has changed al our lives in many sorts, how unpredictable death can be, the way v look at our very existence n above al a lesson to face life wit a brave heart, no matter wat !

an as far as the 30 km drive was concerned, yes.. it was one of the toughest! but God somehow gives u de courage to handle these kinda situations, n thruout de drive i always felt i was de chosen one 2 save thatha's life! so neva got distracted! but sadly, ajji-thatha were inseparable even at de end!

ajji-thatha wil be missed most at the upcomin ugadi, but am sure v have al their blessings 4 whateva v do together..

its a new beginning 4 us, n a new one 4 them as well....

don fight wit each other ajji-thatha!
may u be happily together forever, wherever ur...

srinivasa said...

I appreciate your sense of depicting the facts so close to the reality of the incident. I was dumb stuck to see my mother on the top of the toppled vehicle. Till today I am cross examining myself as how could that happen and the amount of gory pain my Mum would have experienced at that moment with all that Somersault God made her undergo with the steel bolted legs and for such an aged and weak body. The only solace I take in my Parents' demise is that All this has happened under the
footsteps of our Divine Almighty. Even though I was with my Mothers body stranded on the street, with so many passersby expressing sympathy to me and my Mum for almost three hours, I was helpless to do any service to my Mum, who has brought us all up to this stage. I can't speak anything much about my Dad, as his attachment towards my Mum was evident by his sudden Mental shock that he would have felt the moment he saw my Mum in that state. On the whole, I still express my heartfelt gratitude eternally as HE has spared us the lives of My Brother and the family. All in all this is God's World. "Tena vina thrunamapi na chalathi"(Without God's grace not a single strand of grass can shake!)

Mayuresh said...

my heart goes out to you my friend.

Guru said...

the last sentence sums it all that you wish.... may their souls rest in peace.....