Home>>Articles >>J.Panchapagesan Articles >>Debacle of an Old Couple

For a selected few only, the older days are GOLDEN DAYS. Primarily the health reasons are determining factors to deny them even the minimum comfort of living. Comforts derived from wealth cannot be enjoyed by them in terms of food, clothing and other domestic facilities as the rusted body has already lost the capacity to taste and digest a good food, to sleep peacefully on a well cushioned bed with air-conditioned facilities and so on. Even a well maintained body with proper discipline of regular exercise and good habits can enjoy the comforts in greatly subdued condition only. But again that is a law of nature and every body should try to go through the ordeal of old age with grace and fortitude. It requires lot of mental power to digest such ordeals associated with old age and look on the other side where they can get solace and peace. The process of entering in to old age and mellowing down to its teasing realities with grace and confidence is an art that very few senior citizens are gifted with-of both sexes. As pointed out at the start of this writing there are still a selected few who are capable of turning the OLDER days in to GOLDEN DAYS. Inmost cases they find solace in worshipping the deities they put faith by taking arduous journeys from place to place. Even in those bullock cart days they were braving hostile weather and cruel bandits to have the DARSHAN of their most cherished GOD or GODDESS with the hope of better living at least in their next birth or births. Most of the religions encourage their followers to adhere to more or less the same path for salvation. Another act of promoting their cause in their next birth is by charities of their mite and perhaps that speaks of special crowds in front of place of worship around the globe with that extra numbers of alms seekers on festive days. Those who are less fortunate aspire to achieve the same goal by giving free services of teaching, human labor and also by religious discourses. When a man’s physical and mental arrogance depart from him due to old age it is but natural course of option available to him to achieve peace and also make life worth living for the unpredictable number of days he or she is bestowed with. It is not denying the fact that there also a very few like SWAMI VIVEKANANDA who not only get spiritual enlightenment at a very young age but also globally promote countless human beings to attain salvation even after centuries of their mortal departure. But it must also be admitted that, still we cannot call them (barring a very few) as a selfless service devoid of motives as most religion strongly preaches that good deeds (PUNYA) and bad deeds (SINS/PAB) are earning you quality life or otherwise after proper evaluation by THE ALMIGHTY. Just for argument sake if doing PUNYA and SIN are fetching you just the opposite in your next birth –I leave it to the imagination of the readers its dreadful consequences in the behaviors of humanity! Now let us study a practical case of Mr. RAJEEV MANI-71 years, and Mrs. RAJA LAKSHMI -64 years married for more than 40 years and on a similar mission of pilgrimage as narrated above. Here it must be confessed that they were more inclined to treat that journey to the golden temple for LAKSHMI NARAYANI at VELLORE as sight seeing than for urging religious desire. It is hoped that readers may not mind a small description about the most attractive tourist spot in the map of TAMIL NADU TOURISM. The above golden temple of south is located in THIRUMALAIKKODI of SRIPURAM (SPIRITUAL TOWN), and situated in VELLORE district of TAMIL NADU. While luxury buses are available from CHENNAI to VELLORE, special buses at frequent intervals are available from VELLORE to the temple at a distance of 8 km. Access is also available by train up to KATPADI and at 18km by bus up to the golden temple. This temple for the GODDESS LAKSHMI NARAYANI was consecrated (kumbabhishekam) by SRI SAKTHI AMMA on Friday the 2nd of October 2007.This temple with unique structure whose VIMANAM and ARDHA MANDAPA have been coated with gold both in the interior and exterior with 12 layers of gold foils have been pasted on copper sheets embossed with the designs of GODS and fixed on the walls. 1 and ½ tones of gold have gone in to the design of SRI LAKSHMI NARAYANI TEMPLE which has been built at a cost of Rs 600 crores at a site of 100 acres of land. The temple has been designed in such a way that visitors can reach the golden temple only after going through a star shaped pathway which has the messages from Vedas on both sides. The main reason was to attract visitors, and enable them to get wisdom through the messages of VEDAS on both sides. After getting all the above information before hand the old couple thought it was the most suitable religious abode to make a start for more such trips to different places of INDIA. Mr. RAJEEV MANI packed all the medicines and also the NEBULIZER MACHINE (an inhaler for asthma patients), for his ailing wife and also a few clothing with the intention of staying for a couple of days at the GOLDEN TEMPLE. They have also duly intimated to their 3 daughters about their intention and gave them their mobile numbers for emergency contact and took the ride by auto to the KOYEMBEDU bus stand. To their surprise a bus for VELLORE was ready in another 5 minutes with most of the seats empty. The conductor helped them to get the best choice of the seats as per their liking. It was a 2 seater and second row from the front on the left side of the bus. As Mrs. RAJALAKSHMI was in need of fresh air due to her health problems she occupied the window seat. The bus started exactly at 07-50 hrs with the gloomy weather lessened the temperature very much and also the cold wind was blowing inside the bus to the delight of the passengers. As the bus was still treading through the busy city, more passengers were boarding making almost full when it was leaving the city limits. There were no words for the pleasure of Mrs. Rajalakshmi as the cool wind was caressing all over her body and her asthmatic problems had given good bye at least temporarily. She was also murmuring some slogas and also helping herself with some biscuits and tea from the flask. But Mr. Rajeev mani was engrossed in watching the heavy traffic of the city and how the driver was expertly negotiating through on rushing trucks, cars and 2 wheelers and tactfully overtaking a few slow moving vehicles wherever necessary. He was pleased that the passengers were in the safe hand and even enquired the conductor about the probable time of reaching the city of VELLORE. In about 2 hours they may reach there and immediately board a bus for THIRUMALAIKKUDI where the temple is located. Meanwhile Mr. Mani studied the passengers that comprised of young and middle aged and even infants and children. He found that they were the senior most in the bus. Most of them were having the same ambition of having the DARSHAN of GODDESS LAKSHMI NARAYANI. The bus had slowly come out of the city limits and picked up speed in that high ways. It couldn’t also go in a slower speed as the organization had fixed some minimum speed to keep up their schedules. Some of the passengers had fallen in to a nap and also Mrs. Lakshmi in that nice climate and movement of the bus. Every thing was going alright until that dread full moment in the form of a brick laden lorry rushing recklessly from the opposite direction driven by a youngster and novice. The driver and also Mr. Mani were focused on that lorry and its driver’s unbalanced handling of his vehicle. Just in a flash that lorry swerved to its right with out any sign of its intentions and coming in the way of the bus in full speed. Mr. Mani suddenly became aware of the impending danger of the bus penetrating to the middle of the lorry and plunging with all its passengers. A heavy casualty was imminent with scattered limbs of the passengers and also the broken pieces of the bus. Most of the passengers were not aware of the grave situation as they were in half sleep. But as good luck would have it the alert driver put a sudden break in that fraction of a second and the well maintained bus also cooperated with a sudden halt though a few feet had plunged and hit the truck causing damage to both the vehicle. But if a bus coming in full speed and coming to zero speed in a split of a second the law of physics would be that all its passengers and also the contents must be thrown off violently forward. Though the driver could save the bus and its passengers from a serious calamity he couldn’t avoid the resultant damages from that sudden break. For a few seconds no body could realize what exactly had happened to them and the bus. But when all of them got back to their senses they realized that they were thrown off from their seats with serious injuries. The impact was so hard that a fat lady who was occupying a front seat was thrown off against the wind screen and she fell on the road with bleeding head injuries piercing the glass. Slowly groaning and crying passengers were desperately looking for help. Mr. RAJEEV MANI was thrown up to the driver’s seat and he couldn’t also get up. Mrs. RAJA LAKSHMI was in her seat only as she was trapped between the window, the front seat and her husband. But she had violent hit against the front seat and received facial injuries with a few broken teeth and bleeding face. With out being aware of her own damages she was aghast to see her bleeding husband groaning with pain on the floor of the bus. As a dutiful wife she rushed for the help of her husband with the assistance of others. Both were alarmed to see flowing blood on the other with out being aware of their own condition. There were also a few who were unharmed and they assisted the injured to retrieve them outside the bus. The most surprising thing was a 6 month old baby was plucked off from its mothers hand, flew and fell on a nearby seat that was emptied by another passenger and managed to laugh it off with out any injury. A good gentleman was doing yeoman’s service in attending the injured and handing over their respective goods. He also managed to phone a nearby hospital for arranging an ambulance vehicle with the emergency staff. In no time they were transported to the hospital for emergency and first aid service. Even today there are always a good number of selfless people who would rise up to the occasion for helping the distressed. A few doctors and nurses were moving around like men possessed to do timely stitching and administering anti tetanus drugs. But it was unfortunate that they couldn’t help the lady who fell on the road with serious head injuries and she succumbed to the distress of her relatives. The senior most couple of Mr. Rajeev mani and his wife had to be given stitching for the torn lips and both of them had got their broken teeth extracted. But still they were conscious and preferred to move to their residence immediately by paying exorbitant auto fare. They switched off their mobile to avoid conversation with their daughters and them in turn rushing unnecessarily when they could manage themselves. However they informed them after reaching their residence and got attended to all sorts of damages with drugs and injections and still consult a dentist for fixing artificial dentures. It must cost them a few thousands of rupees and certainly make a heavy dent in their savings for the future. The above incident is real with the names changed. Now I invite the honorable readers to reflect on the following points and arrive at their own conclusions as per their line of view. 1. Mr. RAJEEVMANI and Mrs. RAJA LAKSHMI had not traveled all these days of the year venturing for pilgrimage. But still when they chose to do that the mishap happened causing them enormous physical injury and also expensive treatments. Are we to take that they are bound to suffer as a punishment by the ALMIGHTY for some sins committed? 2. Is it that they came to a close shave with death or maiming of their limbs and still escaped because of good deeds? 3. Can any calamity to any body could be justified that they had escaped from bigger damage only because of their PUNYAS accumulated? 4. Should we encourage such positive thinking only to come out of depression and desperation? 5. Or it was just an accident and it is only foolish to attach good and bad deeds for the misfortune happened to the old couple? But the real truth about those old couple is they have almost recovered and also forgotten about what all happened on that fateful day, but are actually working out a plan to make another attempt to visit that shrine. If that also fails for any reason what so ever they may still make a 3rd or even 4th attempt as they don’t have any sort of belief and are highly motivated to do any task of their liking as long as there is only one DEATH for any body to be faced. LONG LIVE RAJEEV MANI AND RAJA LAKSHMI! (?)

BY J.PANCHAPAGESAN FLAT-11,130 GILL NAGAR EXTN STREET CHOOLAIMEDU CHENNAI PH-044 23744963 EMAIL id- jpanchapagesan@yahoo.co.in