Naxal in the making?
We read about Naxalism everyday. We discuss it at parties with expensive scotch in our hands, our women at that time arguing about the benefits of ‘Lycra’ in the new Levi’s tight-fit jeans. Then, when the drink is done and the children start to tug at our sleeves, we wish each other good-night and leave for home in our AC cars, with the latest Bollywood item number playing on our expensive 4 channel system . A normal discussion, a normal day, a normal life.
Driving back from Kanatal last weekend, we were grateful for the thunder and storm that was building up. It had been a hot week and a little rain would have definitely helped. It rained.
We decided to take a less frequented route; the one that joins Raipur to Kaddukhal. Barely a few kilometers down, we were hit by wind and rain like we hadn’t experienced in many years. With that; the land slides, falling trees … and we knew that the only way to reach DehraDun safely is to keep driving and pray. And pray we did. All 7 of us in our Scorpio… children included! About 40 minutes and very little distance later, the storm suddenly stopped. My brother-in-law; sitting with me in the front, who rarely says more than what is absolutely required remarked “Boss, this would have hurt a lot of people”. I ignored and kept driving only till we were stooped by some people, a few minutes later.
“Please help us, we tried calling ‘108’, they say, all their ambulances are busy…you see a lot of people have been hurt. We need to take this woman to DehraDun”. I usually do not pay attention to people on the road owing to experiences we’ve had earlier in Delhi, but the woman in question here, was visible to all of us. A tree had fallen on her, while she was out in the fields and we could clearly see that this was serious.
The middle seat was quickly vacated and space made for two people. The woman and the man who took her in his lap.
“The nearest hospital is in DehraDun Sir” the man volunteered information. “You mean there isn’t even a doctor around” I asked? The answer was obvious. We kept driving. “No Sir, in fact , 4 of us had to first lift her on our shoulders for about 2 kilometers before we reached the road and met you…you see, there’s no road to our village yet, but I’m sure there’s a plan to make one.”
I called Nautiyal Saab , who heads the ‘108’ service and is a friend. He in turn quickly got his supervisor to speak with us. We finally got news that an ambulance posted at Ajabpur is finally on its way. The ambulance met us on route just short of Maaldevta and took the woman to a hospital. Thank God for that.
None of us spoke for some time after that. We had all seen and heard enough for a day. I did however, couldn’t stop thinking. Thinking about what I would have done, if I couldn’t take my family to a doctor when they got hurt or what I would do; if I had to pick them up for 2 kilometers to get to a road-head. AND what would I do, if after reaching a hospital 40 KMs away, I see people discussing benefits of ‘Lycra’ in the new Levi’s tight-fit jeans, with scotch in their hands…
Driving back from Kanatal last weekend, we were grateful for the thunder and storm that was building up. It had been a hot week and a little rain would have definitely helped. It rained.
We decided to take a less frequented route; the one that joins Raipur to Kaddukhal. Barely a few kilometers down, we were hit by wind and rain like we hadn’t experienced in many years. With that; the land slides, falling trees … and we knew that the only way to reach DehraDun safely is to keep driving and pray. And pray we did. All 7 of us in our Scorpio… children included! About 40 minutes and very little distance later, the storm suddenly stopped. My brother-in-law; sitting with me in the front, who rarely says more than what is absolutely required remarked “Boss, this would have hurt a lot of people”. I ignored and kept driving only till we were stooped by some people, a few minutes later.
“Please help us, we tried calling ‘108’, they say, all their ambulances are busy…you see a lot of people have been hurt. We need to take this woman to DehraDun”. I usually do not pay attention to people on the road owing to experiences we’ve had earlier in Delhi, but the woman in question here, was visible to all of us. A tree had fallen on her, while she was out in the fields and we could clearly see that this was serious.
The middle seat was quickly vacated and space made for two people. The woman and the man who took her in his lap.
“The nearest hospital is in DehraDun Sir” the man volunteered information. “You mean there isn’t even a doctor around” I asked? The answer was obvious. We kept driving. “No Sir, in fact , 4 of us had to first lift her on our shoulders for about 2 kilometers before we reached the road and met you…you see, there’s no road to our village yet, but I’m sure there’s a plan to make one.”
I called Nautiyal Saab , who heads the ‘108’ service and is a friend. He in turn quickly got his supervisor to speak with us. We finally got news that an ambulance posted at Ajabpur is finally on its way. The ambulance met us on route just short of Maaldevta and took the woman to a hospital. Thank God for that.
None of us spoke for some time after that. We had all seen and heard enough for a day. I did however, couldn’t stop thinking. Thinking about what I would have done, if I couldn’t take my family to a doctor when they got hurt or what I would do; if I had to pick them up for 2 kilometers to get to a road-head. AND what would I do, if after reaching a hospital 40 KMs away, I see people discussing benefits of ‘Lycra’ in the new Levi’s tight-fit jeans, with scotch in their hands…
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