Close Shave
Close Shave Suspicion Rise of Slum Boy The Lame Panther Legend of Snakes
Close Shave
One of my friend’s marriage was to be solemnized in Kolkata;
I was also invited to the marriage party, accompanying him from Tura.
Tura is a beautiful and the largest hilly town in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya.
There were about 60 people, mainly his relatives and, we four
close friends, Jeet, Mallik, Alfred, and myself,
Deep.
We went to Goalpara by road, crossed the Brahmputra river by
ferry, and boarded the train to Kolkata from Panchratan Ghat Railway Station on
the other bank. We reached Kolkata the following morning.
Our accommodation was booked in a hotel near the bride’s
house. The marriage ceremony was in the evening, so most of us rested after
lunch. We four friends and a few others played rummy. Our group was young, and we
enjoyed drinking and playing cards.
In the evening, everyone dressed nicely and went to the
bride’s house in a procession. We were well received there, and high tea was
served to us. The following function was the exchange of garlands(Jaymala)
between the bride and groom. After the Jaymala, the bride and groom sat
together on the well-decorated stage, and the guests got to meet and greet them.
The buffet dinner began soon after the exchange of garlands,
and most local guests left after the dinner. Only the relatives and friends of the
groom and bride remained there to witness the marriage ceremony, which would start
soon. As per the Hindu Vedic system, it would continue for a minimum of four
hours.
Myself, Jeet, Mallik, and Alfred returned to the hotel, where there was an arrangement for drinks and snacks to be served to the members of the marriage party. There was an excellent collection of Scotch whisky, jin, vodka, beer, and non-alcoholic drinks. Someone came around 10 pm to call us for dinner, and we went to the marriage venue, where the marriage ceremony was in progress.
It was more than 10 pm and high time for our dinner. There
were verities of Indian and Chinese dishes laid for the buffet dinner. We had a
good dinner, after which we watched the marriage rituals. The priest was
chanting the mantras in Sanskrit, and the couple repeated them. Hindu marriage
procedures usually take a long time to accomplish.
We were served tea and coffee whenever required. However, we
started feeling very sleepy, returned to the hotel at 2 am, and slept.
Most people woke up late in the morning.
We had early lunch, or we may call it brunch, after which we
packed our luggage and were ready to go to the railway station. Our train was
at 5 pm.
Finally, we left for the railway station and boarded the Kolkata
Guwahati train. The entire coach was booked for us, so we four occupied our seats
a little away from the others.
The arrangement on the train was also well taken care of. The
caterer had loaded cooked food for our dinner in large containers on the train,
and three persons were engaged for the service. People started sleeping after dinner,
but we four friends played cards and drank jin and soda with lime. The train
was running late by two hours due to an emergency track repair on the route. We
were hopeful that the train would make up for the delay.
The scheduled arrival time at Panchratan Ghat Station was at
3 pm. We were supposed to get off there, cross the Brahmaputra by ferry, and
board the buses waiting for us on the other bank at Goalpara town.
The most significant point was that we must reach there
before the last ferry departed at 5 pm.
Unfortunately, there was no possibility of catching the last
ferry. Therefore, the groom’s side decided we would continue the train journey to
Guwahati. The buses from Goalpara would also pick us up at Guwahati and return
to Tura.
That meant we shall have to travel by train for another 2.30
hours up to Guwahati and from there to Tura another 5 hours by bus; whereas the
total distance from Goalpara to Tura was just 130 km and travel time by road
would be 2.30 hours only.
Our group of four was tired of the journey to Guwahati and
Guwahati to Tura. Hence, we four friends decided to get off at Panchratan Ghat
Station, make a night halt in a hotel there, and go to Tura by taxi the
following morning. The first ferry would be at 9 am.
It would be a great adventure to spend the night in the hotel
on the bank of Brahmputra. We, the four musketeers, were thrilled with this
program. We had no idea about this hotel, but one of our friends hailed from
this area and vouched for the hotel there.
As soon as the train reached Panchratan Ghat Station, we four
got off the train, and the train proceeded with other passengers to Guwahati.
We took a three-wheeler rickshaw, popularly known as
Auto-rikshaw, to reach the hotel. I can’t remember its name since this is an
old incident from 1993. The two rooms we hired were clean and tidy, and the washrooms
were well-maintained. The windows and doors had flyproof nets, so there were no
mosquitoes. Bathrooms had geysers and towels, soaps, etc., provided. Overall, a
moderate hotel, and we can stay there for one night.
It became dark in the evening, and the stewards from the room
service came to take dinner’s order.
“Do you have a bar in the hotel?” Mallik asked, knowing well
that it was not there.
“No, sir, we have no bar, but we can provide all popular
brands of Indian alcohol or soft drinks, which are available from the wine shop
across the road,” he replied.
“That’s good. What about our dinner?” we asked.
“Sir, are you vegetarians or non-vegetarians?” he inquired.
“Non-vegetarians,” we said.
“Sir, leave it to us; we shall serve you homestyle cooked
chicken with gravy, fish curry, steamed rice and salads for dinner, and prawn
and fish fried for snacks.
Surprisingly, they served us delicious snacks and alcoholic
drinks. The weather was cold, and they had placed a pot of burning charcoals in
the room, keeping us warm and feeling good. The dinner was served at 10 pm, steaming
plain rice and Indian Rotis with fish curry and chicken curry.
They served snacks and dinner beyond our expectations. We
were satisfied and tipped them well.
We asked them to arrange a taxi for us to drop up at Tura.
“That will not be a problem, sir. There is a person nearby
who has a taxi. We shall contact him early morning,” they said.
The weather was cold; we entered into our beds and slept
soundly.
We had a sound sleep and felt fresh in the morning. The
hotel boy brought a person to us.
“Sir, he is Suresh. He has agreed to take you to Tura,” he
introduced the man.
“What vehicle do you have?” I asked him.
“It’s a Fiat car, sir,” Suresh replied.
“Is it a taxi?” I queried.
“It is my private car, sir, and I occasionally give it on
rent, if necessary,” he said.
I looked at my other three friends for their reactions.
Mallik said, “That’s right, there are no regular taxi
operators here.”
“Ok, Suresh. Do you have a driving license?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. I have a license and have driven for the last twenty
years,” he said.
We settled the fare at Rs.2000, and he brought a Fiat old
model car to the hotel. He was looking happy that he got a good deal. The car
looked fine from the outside. We had a quick breakfast, and we checked out from
the hotel.
It was a five-seater car; I sat in the front seat left to
the driver, and my friends Mallik, Jeet, and Alfred were in the rear seat. We
reached the ghat, where a ferry boat was about to leave. The car was loaded
onto the ferry, and we crossed the river.
The other bank of the river is known as Goalpara.
Goalpara is in Assam, and Tura is in Meghalaya State. From
Goalpara, we have to come to Dudhnoi in Assam. And from Dudhnoi to Tura is a
hill road with steep gradients and many sharp curves during 1993.
The pavement was also single-lane. The road design and
geometrics have improved considerably at the time of writing this story.
Suresh was driving the car, and we were approaching one
village, Anogiri. Mallik proposed to enter the roadside Inspection Bungalow at
Anogiri. Fredrik and Jeet were also of the same view.
We entered the two room Inspection Bungalow, as desired by
all the members of our group. The caretaker cum cook opened the rooms for us.
The rooms were well furnished, and my friends liked it and found a good location
for a picnic.
They were in the mood and looked to me for support. I smiled
and called the cook. He said he could prepare lunch in one and a half hours, so
I gave him money to buy cooking materials.
Fredrik and Mallik asked the caretaker whether the beer was
available anywhere. And he showed them a wine shop nearby. They went with the car,
brought one whole crate of Kingfisher beer, and placed it in the freezer for
chilling.
The cook and his helper started cooking, and meanwhile, beer
was being served to us with roasted cashew nuts and deep-fried Tangra fish.
It was Saturday and a holiday for us, and we shall have
Sunday to rest at Tura, so the beer party continued until lunch was ready.
The cook was very expert and had prepared several items,
like local brown rice, lentils with fish, chicken curry, mixed vegetable curry,
papad, and green salad.
The cooks in all the Inspection bungalows and rest houses
were generally good in cookery by experience.
We were very pleased with the IB cook and rewarded him with excellent
tips. He was pretty happy.
The whole trip to Kolkata and the return journey were delightful,
and all of us were happy and in a good mood. We enjoyed it up to the brim.
We sat down in the car, ready to depart. The driver cum
owner of the vehicle Suresh, also was in a happy mood.
“The cook is very expert, sir,” he spoke.
“Did you like the food?” I asked.
“Yes, sir, delicious food. He is an excellent cook,” he said
and pressed the accelerator.
We were negotiating sharp curves, and he had increased the car’s
speed.
I was alarmed,
“Please drive slowly, Suresh. There are many sharp curves
ahead,” I warned him.
“I have been regularly driving on the hill roads, sir; please
don’t be scared,” he replied, still driving speedily.
“Suresh, mind the speed,” I shouted.
“I know this road very well, sir,” he replied and increased
the music sound.
I was sitting in the front and observed that his driving was
not to the mark. I was an Executive Engineer in charge of roads, and this road
was under my jurisdiction. I was well aware of the steep horizontal and
vertical curves for which the proposal of geometrical road improvement,
including widening, was already submitted to the Government for necessary
sanctions.
We had already restricted the speed according to the road
condition, and caution boards were fixed at all relevant locations throughout
the route.
I was very angry with Suresh since he did not listen to me,
and I shouted at him and asked him to stop the car immediately.
My three friends sitting in the back seat were not much
concerned and were still in a good mood for enjoyment.
“Why are you driving high speed when I told you to reduce
speed?” I scolded him.
“I was driving at 45 km/hour speed, sir,” he said.
“Can you not see the speed limit displayed? Most of the
curves on this stretch of road are up to a maximum speed limit of 30 Km only,”
I spoke angrily.
Fredrik also shouted at him, “Listen to our instructions
Suresh; you can’t drive as per your sweet will,” he said.
“Give me the key; I will drive,” I commanded.
Seeing my anger, Suresh sought pardon from me and promised to
obey the notified speeds as per the caution boards.
We were passing through the area, where on our left side was
a hill, and downhill side was a deep gorge.
We sat in the car, and before he would start, I asked him, “Did
you drink in the Inspection Bungalow?”
“No, sir,” he replied.
In the meanwhile, it started drizzling, and visibility had
suddenly reduced. Little ahead of us, there was a fresh landslip, and the
driver applied the break to avoid the dump of earth, and he had put our lives
in danger. The car slipped toward the gorge side, and everyone screamed. It
seemed like a slow-motion movie; the front wheels went down to the side slope,
and we had no time to open the doors and jump out. All four wheels were now on
the downhill slope, and I could see the bottom of the gorge, about 200 meters
deep, with innumerable huge rocks ready to kill us.
There was hardly any time. We were about to die; there was
no escape. I folded my hands, closed my eyes, and prayed to the Almighty
God.
It appeared that God had listened to our prayers. The car suddenly
hit a bump of earth and turned on its right side. Due to the friction with the
earthen slope and obstruction by a few pieces of small tree logs, the car came
to a stop slowly.
Thank you, God, for saving us from the clutches of death. I
thanked God. We had a narrow escape.
I looked at the driver. He was stuck between the steering
wheel and the seat. The three friends, Jeet, Mallik, and Fredrik, were also
stuck in between the front and rear seats. It seemed all were in shock. No one
was screaming. All were silent.
The car was right-hand drive, so I sat near the left-hand
side door. Fredrik was just behind me in the rear seat. Only Fredrik and I were
in the complete sense and were in a position to open the left-hand side doors to
come out. I could not open the front side door because the lock had jammed and the
window glass also did not open, moreover I had pain in my left arm. I told Fredrik
to try to open his door cautiously. That was also jam, but he could come out
through the window and carefully opened my door, and I was also out.
The driver regained his sense and asked us to rescue him. We
assured him we would recover everyone safely, but the priority was to save Jeet
and Mallik, who were severely stuck between the front and rear seats.
We opened the dicky slowly and pulled the rear seats toward
me, and both of them were free and came out safely.
The next operation was to rescue Suresh, the driver. We
could pull the front seat backward, and Suresh was also free. He had no serious
injury, and he could come out by himself.
We were fortunate to escape as within a few minutes of
Suresh coming out, the car started slipping down and fell into the gorge with a
big thump.
We had a narrow escape, or we may say we had a close shave
Many vehicles were plying on the highway, and we shouted for
help, but no one heard or saw us.
We climbed up slowly and carefully to the highway. Vans and
pickups were plying on the road. We reached Tura by one of those vehicles
within 1.30 hours.
There was no serious injury to any one of us, but we called
a doctor friend to my residence, who checked us all, and gave us a clean chit.
He shook hands with me.
“You had a Close Shave,” the doctor said while
leaving.
Mallik, Jeet, and Fredrik have yet to go home. They want to
celebrate our narrow escape from the fatal accident. I don’t know what to say!
Disclaimer: This story, or any other story posted on this Blog/Web site, is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents portrayed in these are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to the actual person/persons, living or dead, events localities is entirely coincidental.
Comments