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.
