Being Human

I have heard that there is a beast in everyone of us. This beast is kept hidden in everyone and not let out for not getting spotted in the neighborhood of social beings. However, many a times it’s the human in us which is being kept hidden. Hiding the human, itself sometimes is 'beastliness' and I am no different. I always thought that I have a soft heart for the poor, for the uneducated children, for the green planet etc until when I realized that hiding the sole feeling itself is beastliness after an incident which happened to me last week.

I was returning home along with my wife and kid from the Chennai city and it was around 8.00pm. I was approaching the traffic signal at YMCA junction. I pressed my gas pedal to reach the signal "first". I don't know why I developed this "syndrome", may be Chennai traffic is getting on my nerves. As I was approaching the signal, I noticed in a little distance ahead some thing was lying on the road. As I came closer, I shockingly realized it was a woman lying with her face down on the road with her legs still on her scooter. I was the first to approach the spot it seems. In my mind, my human-beast tug of war began. Should I speed away or should I take her to a hospital. I got my wife and kid who were in a bit of shock and "scripts" started running on my head calculating the return home and losing a pleasant family time to a horrific one. Yes, I started hiding my human in me.

I slowed down at the spot and found the woman was not moving. My wife had a clear question mark on her face asking what to do now. I could not but to stop the car near the spot. People started running in and lifted her from the road. The woman’s face was covered with blood and was not moving. All who gathered to help was looking for a source to get rid of this mess and nobody seems to be coming forward to take her to hospital. The car drivers from the waiting traffic even shouted at us for making a “road block”.  It was then me, for the first time let the human out in a situation like this and opened the rear door of my car and asked them to put her in even though I did not have a clue, where to take her. There was total confusion around and I found myself constantly shouting at the crowd to get her in to the car and asking someone to accompany me to hold her. Finally, a young guy came forward to accompany me, while many among the crowd just wanted to know where I am going to take her. I floored my gas pedal towards Venkiteshwara Hospital as the guy who came along was directing me.

We reached the hospital and she was taken into the causality wing. Later within an hour, her son reached the hospital. Meanwhile the guy who came with me was explaining how a taxi has knocked her down and sped away with out stopping. However, the vehicle number was noted by this guy. The injured woman’s son later came to me and gave me a very cold shake hand, even though he could not say anything I could see his sincere thanks in his eyes.

Later in the night, I received a call from Guindy police station. I cleared my voice and told "yes sir please tell me". The police officer on other end was very polite and just asked about the incident and hung the phone. I thought for myself that police could be nice too! The next day I saw a guy wearing a T-shirt printed on which was "being human"! I thought being human just don’t happen like that nor it will happen by just feeling for it. What I did is a not a big thing but the change it made in me is big for sure. May be I will try to be more human and less of beast now on.