Monday, September 3, 2007

One day in Hyderabad

Let it put it straight to you that I am not the kinda optimist who wakes early in the morning even though his wife ran away with his neighbor last night, and says "it's going to be my day".
Though skeptic at times but today was different. . .
It was my brother's birthday. Ya i remembered it this time.
Except that everything was normal. A lazy Saturday when I usually hang out with my friends in the weekend. Hyderabad is a happening city. Lots of places to hang around. The central shopping mall, the multiplex, the tank bund, lumbini park and lot more. .
But if you are looking for some eatery then you got the usual hyderabadi biryani hotels and if you wanna bite some chat its gonna be GOKUL chat.
Yup GOKUL chat was near and fitted our pockets too.
Saturday evenings you find the roads full the malls full, people enjoying their weekend, few shopping few romancing few just sight seeing and window shopping.

But our manuji was pretty busy in the Saturdays. Oh I am sorry. Manuji as we all call him was the care taker of our very favorite GOKUL CHAT. We had evolved from the usual customer and shopkeeper relation to a friendship level. We loved the place so much that no week went by without visiting our GOKUL.
Things change in a day. Yes I have always believed in that.
Today was a special day for some and the doomsday for the others.
It was 6 pm. I was waiting at GOKUL for my brother he said he would meet me there.
He was late as unusually. Generally i was the one.
It was 6:30. I was about to leave but just then he called and said he was on the way. It will take time. I killed the time by browsing some book stalls. Looking at the girls. And to my luck my friend Rahul just dropped in. So now I had company.
7 pm: My brother shows up. We go to inside GOKUL. About a fifty people rush in to get the bite.
7:10 pm: Sukhi the kulfi guy in GOKUL, shouts to everyone, someone left a bag near his counter. No one responds. But then a guy turns out and says its his. He says he kept it there
as he cant eat holding it along. Sukhi doesn't oppose. He gets back to work.
7:25 pm: we eat kulfi. I asked sukhi "kya sukhi kahin jane ka program hai?" "Itna bada bag?"
he replies "Arey mein kidhar jaunga saabh. Ab lagta hai yehin par jiyunga yehin marunga. Bag to customer ka hai"
7:35 pm: We are almost done with our kulfi. We notice a group os sexy girls arrive. We stay a bit longer.
7:40 pm: We move on thinking thats enough for our belly and eyes.
7:41 pm: Bro gets a call. He stops to talk. We wait along.
7:44 pm: We step out finally from GOKUL.

7:45 pm: Never knew that hell would be like this. Never knew . . . . thats doomsday was so close.
BOOOOM!! A blast!
GOKUL ON FIRE!!
WE COULD SEE NOTHING. ONLY RED FLAMES PEOPLE SCREAMING. BLOOD EVERYWHERE. WE COULD NOT MOVE. WE DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS HAPPENING. SUDDENLY LIKE A VOLCANO, LIKE A FIRE BALL, AND THEN ONLY ASHES ONLY BLOOD THERE WERE BODIES EVERYWHERE.NONE OF THEM MOVING. NONE OF THEM ALIVE. . .
NO time to think. I dialed the 108 emergency. And called up the fire engine and the ambulence.
But no time.
We stop the city bus. Carry the bodies to the hospital nearby. THEY WERE DEAD OR ALIVE WE COULDN'T SAY. NONE OF THEM MOVED.
Like life stopped. Like they forgot to breathe.
IT was so mess. Manuji was dead. his body was not there it was blown up. The body parts shattered all over the places. I could have fainted at that sight. But i didnt.
Some force something still kept me alive. I had to move fast rescue the living people. An inner force gave me the strength.
7:55 We moved the bodies to the hospital.
the emergency wards so many people. Many dead many battling their last breathe.
The sight was horrible. First time i felt the value of human life.
First time i felt how precious our lives are.
8:00 pm: the police takes over from here.
we clear from the scene.
my clothes all drenched in blood. I don't know if it's a Hindu's blood or a Muslim's blood. I don't know if the man dying before my eyes was a Hindu or a Muslim. I didn't knew if the man i rescued was a Muslim or a Hindu.
Nether did the bomb knew.

8:45: I breathe for the first time in one whole hour. Tears don't come out of my eyes. Even they fear to come into this wicked world. Our faces turn blank. We call up our parents to say we are alive. Just alive.
On;ly we knew we could have been dead an hour ago, or maybe fighting death.
Does god existed. He did for my mom who thinks he was the one who saved me.
then why didn't he save others?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
24 people died in the GOKUL CHAT blast. Many more are still fighting for their lives.
A mom lost her only son, who was her only hope to life.
A complete family was killed. Two kids and the wife and husband.
Five students who had come to visit the city died. Their joy tour became their worst nightmare.
But still life didn't take a stand still. . . .
IT MOVES ON. . . .
WE MOVE ON. . .. .
THINKING EVEN OUR CONTRY HAS BECOME HELL AND THE GOVT A WASTE.
LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. . . .

10 comments:

Unknown said...

hi. its cool . the truth is its awesome. but i have one doubt buddy --why did u copy it from my blogs and u past in ur blogs ? to impress girls aa............................

Mythreya said...

oh sasi!! relax. . i don't copy. . and by the way when did u start having a blog?? my reader's know it mine. .
And above all i want the idea to move into the reader's mind. . it's not actually abt ur or mine!! ok

raul said...

i donno..its good to try to add fiction to what happened that evening...
but nice ending...

Mythreya said...

thanx raul. . .

Kiran Chalasani said...

hey....is it true???

i am really happy for u that u survived such a bomb blast!!

the final words are good.....

Unknown said...

its really touching.....

Unknown said...

its really touching....

Mythreya said...

thanx keerti!!

busy-writer said...

if this sin't fiction,
good heavens! how scary.. to have missed death so damn narrowly! :O gosh. looved the way you began, had me in splits n i was expectin some funny write up here!
if it's fiction,
awesome write. cheers!

Mythreya said...

@busy writer
well the most of it is fiction...
though the incident was real...
well i was not present at the scenario but lot of others were and this is somewhat what they could have told if they really could!!