Today, I had a minor accident. And a major heart break because of it.
The story that I am going to narate is very generic and you could expect that similar stuff happens all over the world. It has a very small physical foot print but a really big mental one.
I ws taking my wife and son to the hospital for my son’s immunization shots today noon and a truck hit the rear end of my car and caused a minor structural dent, albeit a major financial dent. I sided the car and then went on to converse, politely at first, with the diver of the truck. I questioned about the reasons for him not applying the break and butting his metal bumper into the fragile body of my car, even when I was honking like mad. You cannot guess what happenned next.
“You are rich. You own a car. Get the insurance people to pay for it. I am not responsible for this. I do not pay atention to the horns or vehicles on the road”, came from the very mouth of the driver. I was shocked and amazed. How carefree he say. How carelessly he said that. He is irresponsible; I said to myself and then went on with the conversation. Things get heated around this time.
A lot of auto-rickshaw drivers have encircled us by now. My wife is in the car and I have requested her not to come out, fearing her and my son’s safety.
The driver is adamant that this misshap is not his fault. I should have been more careful and he has other busines to attend to then talk to an “outsider” like me. What, “an outsider”? I am not part of the same country that he lives. Perhaps for him the region is more than country. What happenned to the generations that fought for the country, he perhaphs belongs to the group who see a invoking regional sentiments a way to escape the consequences of his actions.
I persist with some meaningful heated conversation about the state of damages on my car and demand that he pay for fixing those damages. At this moment, another gem came out of his revered mouth. “You are a rich — Indian and you are trying to extract money from a poor ++ Indian. You are trying to harm us natives. You people have always harrassed us and now you want money for that. I will not you a penny. You can go to the police. They can not do anything to me. I am a native and you are not They will not help you at all.”
I did not expect to hear this blabbering from the driver. How does me being a person from a different geographical location give him the rights to bump my car and go scout free? How can he steer the argument to this?
He hit my car and should either admit his fault or deny it and contest. This is unacceptable that he has assumed that he can do whatever to my property becuase of me being a so called “outsider”. The constitution of Indian grants me the fundamental right to live anywhere and work anywhere in the whole of the country. And no one can deny that right to me. I am not an “outsider” anywhere in my country and I could not be made to feel that.
By now, the crowd was eating out of his hands. They were advising me to go away and claim insurance for hit-and-run and forget the incident because after this ruffain’s speech, no one would believe and help me anymore. Situation was going out of hands and I would have been mobbed.
Lines were drawn. Suddenly, I felt like an alien and this deep feeling of mistrust for, not only this truck driver, but all such characters that were present there, creeped into me.
God! I wish, some sense prevails into that driver, so that he keeps his mouth shut when in such a situation in future. This way the seed would remain fertile in his heart, but would not spread to others.
I still love this place, but only time will tell, how long would I take to regain trust in the antics of the such people like the truck driver and those present around. I had a feeling that such people who take the issue such carelessly are not to be trusted anymore.
I will now try to forget the incident and move on, after all, everyone is same na? Such people exists everywhere and can use any argument to counter the legitimate claim of others. Here it was region, somewhere it may be the rich-poor divide and at some other incident it may be some other argument.
Before I keep the keyboard down, beware of a certain TATA-mini-truck number 3216 on the road. You may be next.
[I have modified this post after the people expressed the views, that I may have generalized the incident a little too much. This post is related to the frustration that I felt on being at the receiving end of such an argument. I reiterate that such an incident can occur anywhere and the base argument can be anything which subverts the principles of decency...]
i understand how much it would have disturbed.I too had the same when one such incident occurred a few years back. I didn’t speak a word,we are really helpless.
Comment by Murugesh — March 16, 2009 @ 4:13 pm |
its not matter of regionalism, in the end it all comes to selfishness. if you were a native Bangalorean/Kannadiga, then he might have become you_software_engg_me_driver. btw did not you log a police complaint? i know its troublesome for you as well but you should make him pay whatever little you can. he will be bit careful next time.
Comment by Nilesh — March 17, 2009 @ 7:18 am |
Learn Kannada . Lodge a complaint. Have a camera in ur car. WIthout even talking to him, take pictures of his number board and his face. That will make him come and talk to you.
Comment by Nagzu — March 17, 2009 @ 11:11 am |