Name Nilesh,
Age 29,
Works for Infosys Technologies Ltd,
Married in 2001,
Has a 2 year-old kid...
It was under quite unfortunate circumstances that I got introduced to this person, only yesterday. I left office, unusually early. There were a couple of shuttles moving ahead, probably taking back the employees home, as I was driving my bike towards the highway. Suddenly the shuttles braked hard, my first thought was someone crossed the road unexpectedly - nothing new in this part of the world.
But, as I tried to move ahead, I saw him. He was lying right in the middle of the road, helmet broken, bike fallen by his side. My instinct said 'stop' but I wasn't really sure what to do. As my bike was crawling due to my confused thoughts, my friend, who was with me, shouted 'STOP!'. I did exactly that and we rushed across to him. There were a few people who stopped by and saw what was happening. My friend was frantically shouting at the top of her voice asking people for 'help'. The Road accident emergency number on her phone was not responding. Finally we got hold of two other people and we tried to lift him in order to move him to any nearby hospital (where was it? how do we find it? how do we take him there? - unanswered thoughts). But we could not manage it.
We had to act fast, time was a luxury. Infy (office) was nearby and we went back there to get our ambulance. Circumstances!!! The ambulance was not available. We took one of the shuttles that was available then and asked the driver to rush to the spot. So where do we take him once we get him in? Baner?? Or to this small dispensary nearby itself? Would it be helpful? - unanswered questions.
By the time we reached the place, an ambulance was already there. Nilesh was just moved into the ambulance. People who lifted him (noble souls) said there is 'no hope'. We got into the ambulance and rushed to the nearby hospital. As we put him in the ambulance, we saw that he had an Infosys ID. Fortunately, his phone was half-working and we managed to locate a 'kaka' in the Contacts list. We informed him about the incident. We also contacted Infosys HR and let them know about it. The ambulance was trying to rush through the evening traffic. Our dearest truck drivers did not even bother to give way for an ambulance with the siren on. It took us full 15 minutes to reach the hospital.
The doctor and nurses got into the ambulance to check his pulse and heart-beat. In a few seconds, my friend came to me jumping and said there seems to be some pulse. We shook hands after the seemingly victorious moment. But the examination took another 5 minutes after which the doctor came out. He started asking questions like 'are you related to him?', 'where are his relatives?' etc and my hopes were fading again. They took us inside to the doctor's office. There he informed us that Nilesh was no more - no pulse, no heartbeat. The happy seconds that passed a few minutes ago just vanished. I have never been so close to death ever before. I was blank and did not know how to react. I just walked out and sat in the chair.
There were frantic calls from his relatives on his cell. His wife broke-down on the phone. I dont know if we should not have told her about it. But frankly, we did not know how what to do. My friend was crying by my side. I, as usual, was silent and following my thoughts which were recounting the moments of the evening.
All of us know death is inevitable. But the way it happened is really disturbing. The sad part is we never think about all these things when we sit on the bike and take pride looking at the speedometer hitting 80kph. We don't even think twice before trying to sneak through the wrong side of the road. All this is because most of the time we get away with it scot-free. But when the move proves incorrect, the consequences are too heavy. I think of his family and I shudder at the thought of losing such a young one amongst them.
Coming back, now we are being told that he died on-the-spot. I certainly could feel a jerk in his body when we tried to lift him up the first time. I am quite sure about it. May be he did a mistake, driving on the wrong-side. But the only thought that haunts me is 'could we have saved him?'. Something tells me 'probably yes'. I accept, it was a brief hope, but not impossible. I can never get over this feeling for the rest of my life.
After all this, I come to office again today; We have a condolence meeting; People resume their work. And as it is often said, life goes on. For me, 'a life just went by'.
