I drove past the traffic signal to evade a pause before it turned red. I was at a 70kmph plus that time. Suddenly a sight caught my attention. A guy, probably in his late 20’s, wearing a pretty decent attire lying down on the side of the street. I drove past him, anyways. That is what we do mostly. But his state and the clear fact that he was not a perennial sufferer caught my attention. I had barely moved some 100m when I decided to turn back the vehicle. I parked closed to him. I could see his eyes half open and he was drooling from the left end of his lips. He wore a tshirt inside and a good branded shirt, a lose one, too lose for that matter. A levis jeans and a good sling bag. Did not look drunk either. I caught him by his hand and it seemed he fell down here just a couple of minutes back.
He had messed up hair with mud filled in and an inch long beard. His face clearly showed marks of dried tears and swollen eyes. I pulled him aloof and brought him to his senses. I brought my water bottle from my bike and made him drink and sprinkled some on his face. I was eager to know where he belongs to and if he is alright. I asked him his whereabouts, but he wasnt responding. Just looked squared up at the ground.
“Are you going somewhere?”, I asked.
“Yea, I need to go back”
“Where?”
“Home!”, he replied.
“Where do you live?”
“Jabalpur, MP”, he replied.
“What are you doing here?”
He did not reply. I wanted to ask again but I did not.
“You want some help?”, I asked while I picked him up and he tried to stand.
“No, thanks for the help, I will be fine.”, he replied.
“Are you sure you’re ok to go? Do you want me to drop you somewhere?”, I was still not sure if he was okay.
He just stood up, skimmed his dress to remove the dirt from him and continued to walk. Shoulders bent, lose attire and a bag hanging to a side. He kept walking along the road, full of powdery mud. I stood there and kept thinking about this guy. I started the bike and went close to him, once again and by gesture asked him if he was okay enough to go all by his own. He replied positively and I turned right with a pray that this guy reaches wherever he wants to safely. After I was well ahead in my way to my office, a strange thought came to my mind. Why did I turn back for this guy? Was it not just because he looked decent enough to not have fallen on the road like that? What could have been the possible reasons for him to fall off there and not care to stand up on his own? What could the situation have been if it was not him but a man with a poor appearance or maybe a beggar? Would I come back for him too? Probably not, I guess! I was a little disappointed at myself to have had such answer for this.
Another question that hit me on my face was whether the reasons for such people falling off on the road and the homeless people falling off – are they the same? Definitely the change in point of view and the ill effects of falling on the road would be the same for anyone. You, me, this guy or the homeless. But there was something that brought me to this guy and would have not, otherwise brought me to a homeless one.
I guess, I understand now, anyone who is seen fallen off on the road sides must be helped and atleast put to one side in a respectable position on a high ground and clean surface. No human is supposed to rot in mud or earth or a waste dump. And I will tell you one thing. While I was trying to pick that guy up, I got a glimpse of how a busy road looks and how the speeding vehicles look if you are lying down that way beside a road. The small vehicles too, look like big trailers coming at an immense speed and everytime they cross you, they leave some dust, a gush of fuel-exhaust air and God forbid, sometimes a plastic or a torn paper or any rubbish. I could view the road from that perspective that day.
Or if you want to get a perspective of how dangerous it feels, try it once under a guided environment. Sleep on the roadside and see how the vehicles pan fast and furiously! And believe me it’s not a pleasant experience. It instills a sense of fear, a sense of solitude and isolation. It acts as a screen to all your bad experiences in your life. Makes you feel so so low that even standing up on your own seems useless. You’d better lie there and see what else life’s got to throw at you!
So the next time, you see someone lying on the road side (not intentionally though) go and pick him/her up and put up to a better place. Give them a glass of water. Tell them it’s going to be okay. Offer them a drop out if they are on a journey somewhere. I have had several moments of goosebumps while I was writing this out. I am sure you will have some too if you happen to experience.
Always Ranting, Rantzaada.
The 11 o' clock diary 