After an embarrassing experience I had a few days ago, I would like to share with you a traumatic experience I had recently. Since I was planning to drive to Coimbatore in my car driven by a call driver on 11th March, to save time I decided to go to the petrol bunk to fill the tank the evening before. The attender noticed that the left rear wheel tire was low on air. As I had checked the tire pressures only two days earlier, I decided to go to the nearby puncture mechanic to find out If there was any problem with that tire.
I parked the car opposite
the shop, got out, and after ensuring that there was no vehicle in sight,
started crossing the narrow road towards the shop. Out of nowhere, a cycle
driven by a teenager came at breakneck speed knocking me down, with the cycle
falling on me and the boy thrown out a couple of feet away. I was shocked
beyond words. I was invoking the names of my favourite gods and trying to
understand what was happening to me. A crowd gathered, the traffic stopped, and
the boy was admonished for rash driving. Some good Samaritans helped me get up
and stand on my wobbling feet. Another guy picked up my spectacles and mobile
found on the road. Someone got me a glass of water and another asked me to
check if I felt ok with my hands and legs. I was slowly escorted to the shop
where I was made to sit on a chair in the shop. After ensuring that I was
alright the crowd melted away and the traffic resumed.
Since I was dazed and in no condition to drive my car home, I
called my son-in-law whose house was nearby, and sought his help. He arrived
soon and took charge of the situation. He decided to not only check the defective
tire but also the Stepney tire, since I was going on a long trip the next day. The
mechanic found one puncture in the tire fitted on the vehicle and three
punctures in the Stepney tire. After doing the necessary repairs and paying the
mechanic for his timely service, my son-in-law drove me back to my home.
Despite the nasty accident, thanks to the Divine Grace, I had no
collateral damage, not even a scratch on my body. Even my worry about having
some hairline fracture was dispelled the next morning when I got up and found
that there were no swellings anywhere. I decided to take the trip accompanied
by my younger daughter in my car driven by the call driver.
As I always do, I started thinking about the positive side of
this incident. But for my son-in-law`s help in ensuring that all the problems
with tires were addressed, I could have faced serious problems on the road with
a defective stepney, in case one of the other tires developed problems.
Everything happens for the good as my old friend told me after a nasty accident
we had in Bombay 60 years ago. Om Sairam!
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