Friday, May 29, 2009

Tagged

Monika has tagged me to share with you an experience that was scary and horror filled. I cannot think of many such instances since my life has followed a pretty normal course with not many thrillers thrown in. But there is one that scared the life out of me and that is what I plan to report.

It was way back in 1975 and just on new year's day. I was returning to Jamshedpur with my first born-just three months old. My uncle was to accompany me. My mother came to the station to see me off. I was to board a train bound for Chennai coming from Mangalore and the train stopped at Erode where I was supposed to board, for just 10 minutes. I was naturally upset at having to leave home. My mother was full of advices as to how the child needed to be cared for during the long journey and other useful tips that only aa mother can give. The train arrived and my uncle got busy loading the luggage and left me along with the baby and my mother. He came back in 5 minutes and found that my mother was no longer standing by my side and I had no clue as to where she had gone. Now my mother's eyesight was weak and about 70% gone. There was no way we could find out whom she had followed and which compartment she might have gotten into. My mama was almost in tears and asked to porter to bring down all the luggage that had been loaded. A cousin Ambi, who had accompanied us and was to take my mother back jumped in and out of each compartment looking for her and all I could do was to stare at the train, child in hand and eyes filled with tears. Just when the guard was about to blow the whistle Ambi got down from a compartment followed by my mother. relieved to see her my mama ordered the porter to re-load the luggage and almost shoving me into the train waved a hurried good bye to my mother asking Ambi to take her home. We did not even know if all items of luggage had been loaded or not and it was only when the train began to move that the gravity of the situation began to register in our minds. It so happened that my mother mistook someone else for my uncle and followed the person into the wrong compartment. Once inside she could not see a thing and kept calling our names. I still shudder to think of what may have happened if the train had moved before she was located and disembarked. My only regret to this day is that I had the responsibility to take care of her in a busy platform and I had somehow failed her.

I invite all my readers to consider themselves tagged and share their horror experiences with us.

25 comments:

Aparna said...

My scareiest moment happened when my baby was just about a year old. My husband and I had gone shopping before Diwali in a very crowded departmental store. I turned and suddenly I could not find my child. Within a fraction of a second she had completely disappeared.
As she had not even learned to talk, she was unable to say even her name. We went to the store manager who closed all the exit points of that store.After a frantic search we found her sitting on the counter of a sales girl who had seen her and stopped her from wandering. She was waiting for us to arrive. Till this date I shudder when I think of this.

Hip Grandma said...

Well that was scary.a baby gone missing in a crowded departmental store.I am sure you must have panicked and why not.Glad you found her!

Mampi said...

Oh my god, this was really scary. and to think that one gets lost in an indian train...

Usha said...

I can imagine. My god, she could have been in any compartment and the train could have taken off. There is so much chaos at the station especially if it is a mid point boarding. I am glad you managed to find her and I can see why it is the scariest experience of your life.

Priyanka said...

That is a very scary experience. Good thing that you found your mom in time.

It has gotten me thinking about my scary experience.

Sonia said...

My scariest moment happened when I was travelling to Dubai on work by myself. I went to this Sanjeev Kapoor restaurant which was flanked on both sides by "womens club" naked ladies et al. As I didnt get a reservation etc, I walked out to hail a cab at 8PM or so....no cab was in sight, slowly it started getting more uncomfortable as I heard the music blaring from the bars and men passing by in cars :(( So I started to walk, my heels sinking in the sand, to the nearest road. Thank God, cab stopped by, said he would charge me double (for some reason) and whisked me away to my hotel!!! Very very scary, kept thinking of Sadak and other similar movies over and over!!

Hip Grandma said...

mampi:You can well imagine the pushing and shoving that goes on in our rly.stations.It sets me shuddering even now.

Usha:It was my mama's reaction that brings tears to my eyes even now. He kept mumbling to all who cared to hear that his 'poor sister could not even see properly'. Whatever she may have otherwise faced my mother was lucky to have him for brother.

Priyanka:with her eyes in bad shape God knows what would hve happened if the train had pushed off!Please share your experience as well.

sonia:Whatever we say, women are prone to feel vulnerable under the circumstances you describe.Glad you found a reliable cabbie.

Sumana said...

Can imagine how you would be feeling. Yup your mom is lucky to have such a brother.

Tys on Ice said...

i think the scareist time for me was when i had my break down and was diagnosed as psychotic maniac depressive...of course i didnt know tht then...i was in a train in chennai during the new year during the babri masjid riots...i had just come from rajastan after seeing some of the most atrocious things humans can do to each other...so i must have been ready to break..

being mad is confusing...it is totally scary...things happen around u that u know fails logic and reasoning, yet it does....u hear noises...see things...ur senses plays tricks on u...ur first reaction is sheer terror...then rage becoz of the panic the terror induces...

i think that was the most scariest moment of my life...the day i lost my sanity...

Hip Grandma said...

sumana:these are times when one feels inclined to believe in destiny. The possibility of a higher force guiding your life seems real.

Tys:Well, I can understand. It is good that you were able to tackle the situation and maybe your family stood by you which is in itself a credit.

Artnavy said...

news at my blog for you

shoba said...

Wow !! Must have been really scary. Losing someone is the worst thing to happen in life.
I can recall a similar moment, though not for me but for my dad as he thought he lost me. It was during some TN-Karnataka riots and fasting by Jayalalitha in TN when I was on my way to Erode from Trichy and all the buses were stopped in some unknown place and no transportation available at all. I was in my 2nd year of college and travelling alone in a bus. Finally found someone, hitched a ride in a scooter with some unknown guy(( God !! I can't even imagine how I got the guts to go with an unknown stranger. He turned out to be a very nice man, thankfully)). I left home at 6:30AM, and finally DAD found me in a place called Namakkal around 5 PM , with tears in his eyes only to see me smiling cheerfully.

Hip Grandma said...

artnavy:congrats girl!can relate to anush's excitement having seen my g'daughter megha's.your blog doesn't let me comment.no room for late reactions i suppose.

shobha:i can understand your dad's predicament.i used to stand by the main road if my son was even 10 minutes late.

Jaya said...

Your post made my mind think.. finally. Good that all ended up well.. You are in NY? Till when? We can get in touch.

Jaya said...

I actually wrote the post. Please come and read it.

SJ said...

I just stumbled on your blog! Loved your name and the 'about me' ! The scariest thing that has happened to me was I was driving my scooty @ night and it started to rain and I lost my way :( I drove around for 30 mins in that heavy rain asking people (I didnt want to wait anywhere for the rain to stop it was already 9pm) finnaly somehow managed to reach home dripping wet but in 1 piece!

Dotm said...

WOW! What a scary ordeal to go through. So scary for you, and also for your poor mother. Glad things turned out ok in the end.
I have had a few scary times like falling down a water well on an Uncles farm when the boards , hidden by the snow broke and until my Dad and uncle got there, when the water first went over my head I thought I was going to drown. But with all the scary things that happened in my own live, one very scary time was when the 7 1/2 year old step daughter found acid used to de-horn cows on the farm where we were renting and spilled it on both her and our little 2 1/2 year old daughter. I watched the flesh being eaten away as I carried them both into the house. I feared for their life at first, but after about 3 months all the burns were healing well, but today some scars still remain to remind us of that terrible day.I think we worry more about those we love than about our own life.

Madhumita said...

Dear HHG: Please don't blame yourself too much - although I can imagine how scary it must've been, I can also understand how a young mother might have had her attention diverted for a short while. Glad your uncle had the foresight to send someone onto the train to check!

Hip Grandma said...

joy:I am now in Seattle and will be in NYC for a day before I retrn on the 29th.Your account of horror experience was scary too.

SJ:welcome here.Can understand your plight.Driving alone on a rainy evening can be scary.

Dotm:what an ordeal to have two children burnt and that too with acid. Can empathise with you.Safety of children is prime for any parent.It must have been the same for your parents when you fell into the well.

madhumita pravin:Welcome here.i know these things happen inspie of taking utmost care.But they remain ingrained in one's mind for ever.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Travelling in a train with a small baby sounds scary in itself, but your mother's trauma must have made it really grim.

The July 26th rains in Mumbai, when my husband was stranded at office, and my daughter and I were new and cooped up in at our flat with the ceaseless rain, powercut and telephone-connection cut, was scary. But I had to put on a brave face in front of my daughter.

Hip Grandma said...

sucharita:welcome here.yeah i heard of the july 26th rains too.and i believe it was terrible experience for mumbaiites as well.

Priya said...

Reading your scary moment reminded me of mine also. We had a similiar situation when we went to Delhi. I lost my mother at the station for a while. My sister and I nearly died. It was just three of us and we were expecting to be picked by our uncle.
Our dad passed away when we were quite young and for a few moments we thought we lost our mom too.. so i can just imagine how you must have felt.

Hip Grandma said...

priya:I can understand your plight too.

Sharmistha Guha said...

The scariest moment in my life...when my baby was 10months old. She was running a temperature the past one day. At around 1am, her forehead was burning as she slept....temperature was 103 deg F. My husband being out-of-town, i was with my parents; my ma started giving her a cold bath and as I sat drying her, i saw her eyes fixed at the light. No movement. I took her from ma and lightly slapped her cheeks but she kept staring in the same direction and withing seconds i could feel her body growing lifeless and lips turning navy blue....my voice was choked and i screamed out. with the baby in my arms i rushed out snatching the car keys.....baba-ma realising something wrong, followed me....i remember driving like mad in the dead of the night , thinking the worst...hardly able to see with tears flowing from my eyes...
The paediatrician's residence gate was locked and we were so helpless that we screamed out his name, pleading him to come out. By then, ma, who had taken her from my lap, while i was driving, felt her passing stool and regain some consciousness...the doc came out, checked her...she was conscious by then and had regained part of her normal colour. He said it was febrile convulsion.

That was the worst day in my life....even as i write this i have tears rolling down & goosebumps thinking of that night.

Hip Grandma said...

SGD:How scary to see your child sinking and yet to keep your head on your shoulders and do the needful.So glad that it ended well. We don't want a repeat of such experiences, really.