Strings Of Life

26th January 2000, those five hundred students of a boarding school had no idea that lot was going to change in their lives that day. I was one of them.
It was 9:30 in the morning and I was still in the bed, dreaming of candies & biscuits my friend has kept in his cupboard. And then I heard a voice: “You sleep monger RUN...., RUN FAST.”
Half awake I started running out, only to realize later that it was an Earthquake.
Yes, the deadly earthquake of Gujarat.


Everything was in a huge mess. The buildings were damaged, after-shocks were felt every minute, few students lost their near and dear ones, and the final exams were nearing each day.
One guy from my hostel who was known for his sincerity and honesty complained that he saw a lady ghost cladded in a white sari in the nearby ground at 12’O Clock midnight. As we were already in the trauma of the earthquake, we ignored his plea. Next day, he reported the same. This time we got really scared. And the matter was taken up with a head teacher who took the guy to a ‘TANTRIK BABA’. And finally the guy was declared of having a “KALA SAYA” of some lady ghost. Kala Saya of a white lady? we couldn’t digest the concept, so we decided to stay awake and witness the ghost ourselves.

Equipped with hockey sticks and chains we waited for the clock to strike 12. As the time passed by the night kept getting darker and darker. Exactly at 12'O Clock the lady ghost appeared in the basketball court. Clutching the hockey sticks and stuff, we all ran out of the hostel. As soon as the ghost saw people approaching her, she started running the other way. We grabbed her and as she was about to get the first blow of the hockey stick, she shouted : “Hey, Please Stop, this is Varun from the Garuda hostel; remember I played black magician on the school annual day.” And we all laughed out loud.
The next day, no ghost was seen on the ground. But it was heard of being seen in the Garuda hostel.

Finally back after a long break. It was so much fun. Drove car for more than 1500 kms, visited college, had good time with friends. And all those nostalgic feelings.
It is strange that:
“When I was driving the car, I yelled at people walking down the street.
When I was walking on the street, I yelled at people driving the cars.”

Fast driving is so much fun, isn’t it?. It’s adrenaline rush, and the feeling of weightlessness? -it’s awesome. Driving at a high speed I wrongly overtook one car. By the time I realized my mistake, the car was left far behind. All that adrenaline rush feeling was over and I brought my car to a normal speed.

After a few minutes, the same car sped past me and stopped right in front of my car. My gut feeling said that the things are going wrong. I was all alone and the road was empty too. Fear struck my heart and my stomach had that feeling -the one you get before an interview or a viva. A man double my size stepped out of the car and asked me to step out too. Things definitely were going wrong, mustering courage I stepped out.
I could sense anger in that man’s eyes. But when I went near he asked politely(Maybe by my getup I appear an innocent person. Thanks to the Sarkari Naukari, now I hate formals no more): “Sir, your fast driving could have killed me”. I apologized, and since that day my speedometer hasn’t read more than 45km/h. After all, more than myself I don’t want to risk somebody else's life.

Image curtsy: loritingey