“We all love you with all our hearts beta, look forward to seeing you soon. You have brought many laurels to the family in the past and keep bringing in new every passing day. Thank you for giving us innumerable moments to rejoice and to feel proud to be calling ourselves your parents”. Aishwarya’s parents embraced her in arms as they bid her farewell. She left for Pune after pompously celebrating her 24th birthday.
Aishwarya is an ambitious AI professional who has been working for a year now at an MNC in Pune after completing her Computer Science engineering at a prominent institute. Only daughter to her parents, and an apple’s pie in everyone’s eye. A girl adept in various fields, and especially inclined towards philanthropy. Her ultimate aim in life is to bring smiles to others’ faces, especially the underprivileged ones.
Coming from a humble background, she is the biggest asset for her parents. From swiftly making her way to the list of ‘top employees’ at the workplace to garnering well wishes from everyone for her everlasting pleasing behaviour, she is an absolute gem of a girl.
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Viraj, a 25-year-old Python developer, and a dear colleague of Aishwarya. Hailing from the holy city of Varanasi. After completing his engineering from an NIT, got placed in the MNC at a handsome package. Brother to little Arnisha, and son to Mrs. and Mr. Thakur. Coming from an affluent extended family, Viraj’s jolly nature and engrossing personality made him liked by all. His parents had always counted on him as a competent heir to take a major segment of their textile legacy forward (with the other going to Arnisha). Having a sheer interest in the tech domain, Viraj promised to manage both his roles with utmost allegiance and sensibility.
It was his parents’ 30th anniversary, and Arnisha had arranged a splendid party at home. Talking to his parents this morning, Viraj informed them of his unavailability to attend the function citing an important assignment at the office. (While in reality, Viraj had planned to give them all a big surprise). He hadn’t been to his place in the last 6 months because of his new not-so-kind boss taking charge. Because of this, though his parents weren’t as excited for their big day as they should be, they somehow kept a feeble hope in their hearts of Viraj giving them a surprise. He had been a notorious kid in terms of giving out-of-the-blue surprises since his very childhood, and his parents knew it well.
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A day before leaving for his place, Viraj and Aishwarya planned a good dinner after their work hours. It was a long they hadn’t gone out to Blue Nile, their go-to dinner place. After having a palatable dinner, they walked in the streets for almost an hour talking life, love, home, and the office.
Viraj had bought himself a brand-new Royal Enfield with his hard-earned money in the previous year. And he was absolutely in love with that. They got on the bike with Aishwarya handing her favorite Rajwadi Kulfi to Viraj for the last bite. Taking the bite, Viraj targeted the stick to the nearby bin, started the engine, and uttered in a sophisticated tone, as if he was resisting himself from saying that. “Aishwarya, I’ll be disclosing to you something really big after returning from home, probably the biggest thing I have ever talked about, something that you wouldn't have thought of. But for the time being, just can’t wait to surprise mom-d…*&!@%!”
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| Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash |
Before he could complete his say, a Porsche coming from behind rammed into their bike.
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Viraj collapsed to a painful death on the spot. Aishwarya succumbed to her injuries while on her way to the hospital. Had the passersby instead of taking exclusive pictures and videos of the accident site taken her to the hospital at the earliest, her life could have been saved.
A 17-year-old high-on booze opulent teen took their life in a modicum of a second and put a formidable full stop to all their and their families' plans, dreams, and aspirations for the lifetime. Yes, not for a week, month, or year, but for the entire lifetime!
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Whether the driver, the 17-year and 8-month-old all GROWN-UP MAN (not a teen to any extent) will get the punishment he deserves for killing two innocent young lives through his reckless driving? Will he be booked under serious culpable homicide charges for driving an unregistered car at abnormally fast speed that too allegedly with compromised senses? Or will his billionaire father take him out of the whirl of punishments completely unscathed by filling the pockets of the police, the media, and the political leaders with lakhs of rupees (as they shamelessly gulp the bribe without even taking a hiccup of integrity)? Above all remains to be seen, and probably just like thousands of past instances will eventually go against the grieving family and the victims.
But what matters the most at the moment that hardly anyone talks about is ‘what about the lives lost and the critical mental & emotional wounds borne by the family’? There are a multitude of views, both gibberish and valued about the corrupt bureaucracy, legal lacunae, ill-will, biased media, nasty Godfathers, teen delinquents, unprincipled doctors etc, but do we ever think or sincerely talk about the severe repercussions the tragic accident would bring for their families? Do we ever pay heed to what wrong the victims had done that made them die a harrowing death all of a sudden and made their families live with an excruciatingly hurtful void in their hearts for their entire lifetime?
The families anyway will hardly get timely (or even delayed justice) for the misery they have been through, and the accused in no case will go behind bars for a significant duration of time. BUT…say the country we are living in today becomes an ideal place to live in from the very next morning. A utopian land where the aggrieved family gets due justice and the accused gets the stringent punishment that he deserves. Still, will it alleviate the agony of the aggrieved family to any extent. Not really! Will it be able to give life to all their (now shattered) heartfelt aspirations, dreams and promises? Alas…no!
None of the above will ever be true. The innocent souls that have been forced to drastically depart will never be able to take a U-turn and come back, neither the severe emotional wounds nor the trauma that the families have gotten will completely heal anytime in their entire life. Unfortunately, there lies no scope in the real material world for the above transcendental things to happen. So, the least, you, we, and I could do with the good support of the virtuous police, uncorrupt bureaucracy, and empathetic political leaders is to put in our best effort for letting the justice prevail. Also, for setting a commendable example for others that the cost of an innocent human life is a million times more than the entire GDP of the world or the number of stars in the galaxy. It just can’t be snatched away by anyone like this, no matter what, or how!!!
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Viraj did come back to his home a few days later. But all covered up in white...