Snubbing out a wonderful life

Our lives were changed forever on February 9th, when my father, a Chartered Accountant, who had a penchant for brisk early morning walks, was struck down by a speeding vehicle in a hit and run accident.

He fell, knocking his head onto a parked scooter before hitting the ground, sustaining grievous head injuries and was left lying unconscious on the road until a good Samaritan who happened to pass by, noticed him, informed the police and rushed him to casualty.

Doctors in three hospitals grimly informed us that surgical intervention was impossible as there was bleeding all over his brain and that nothing short of a miracle could save him. All that could be done was to put him on a ventilator and wait and watch.

He was given a five percent chance of survival in the most primitive vegetative state but succumbed to his injuries the next day without ever regaining consciousness.

Life has become a rat race and in our urgency to go places, we lose our sense of virtues, caring for no one but ourselves and showing a callous disregard for human life.

My father might have had a fighting chance if the driver had stopped and taken responsibility for his actions.

But alas that was not to be, he was probably too busy saving his own skin.

There were no clues at the scene of the crime, nothing to help the law enforcement agencies nab the perpetrator of the offence.  They seemed to be more concerned about my inability to speak any language other than English than with getting down to brass tacks.

The saddest part was not being able to say goodbye.

I shudder when I see the state of our pothole laden and dug up roads. Two wheelers, Four wheelers and More wheelers zip by with scant regard for pedestrians and other motorists. Traffic rules are seldom obeyed. Road rage rules and one’s dictionary is forever enhanced by language which would make a sailor blush.

Residential areas are strewn with vehicles haphazardly parked on the streets because their owners have no space to accommodate them within their own compounds. Several of these vehicles end up being parked in front of their neighbour’s gates, preventing them from taking their own vehicles out and causing them substantial fuel savings!

One cannot even cross over to a supermarket without the fear of being mowed down by a cab or taxi driver who thinks he’s racing a Ferrari.

Gone are the peaceful days of yore when one could go for a leisurely walk around the neigbourhood. Where will be headed a decade from now? The mind boggles.