Sadly the excitement and anticipation of my weekend trip to Madurai to visit friends and family was quickly dashed at 6am on Saturday morning when my bus crashed into a Toyota Qualis carrying young men to a DMDK (political party) rally in Chennai. A few people in my bus were injured, but five people in the vehicle were killed. They were all my age.
The front of my bus, notice the windshield fell out.
The back of my bus off the road! Thank god we didn't land on ourside or continue down the ravine.
The Toyota Qualis totally unidentifiable. This pictures has been croppedto remove gruesome details.
I was sleeping when we hit them and went off the road. I realize I had nothing to do with the accident and I am not at fault (although my bus driver was arrested and was driving on the wrong side of the road). But the fact remains that I was in a vehicle, which was responsible for taking 5 lives. The accident could have been much worse for our vehicle, but luckily it wasn’t. I feel very lucky to be alive, and to be physically fine. But five others young people were not so lucky. There are families, wives, children, and friends that are grieving for them.
The typically Indian response is to ‘move on’, ‘it happens’ or ‘deal with it’. And those kinds of responses drive me mad. I realize those are the things I need to do…and I will do them. But I’m trying to figure out exactly HOW to do that…HOW to honor and remember lives lost. HOW to process my own feelings about being at the scene of a deadly accident. And HOW to make sure I’m not sweeping it aside as so many Indians seem to think I should do.
AIF has offered to help me find a local counselor to talk to. I do appreciate their concern and support, although I think this is something I would rather deal with on my own. And from now on I’ll be taking trains wherever I travel.
Article in The Hindu
4 comments:
you are right on when you say that as much as you were not to blame for the horrible events of this past weekend, it's important to recognize the lives lost and to grieve for such a terrible event. while things like this do happen all the time, all over the world, it doesn't/shouldn't make them any less important or allow us to shrug them off. i'm thinking of you!
You have shown much empathy for those in the accident...Let us honor those lives that were lost & hold their families in the "light" while they go thru this grieving time.
It is especially important to remember to LIVE in our each & every MOMENT!!
What a terrible experience and a tragic story... I'm sorry you had to go through this and that so many lives were lost. You're right- it's important to keep the memory of those people and the accident close while still finding ways for you to cope with what has happened. i hope you can find some peace- much love <3
Sista,
Wow, that's a really heavy thing to deal with. Anyone who's travelled in places like India certainly thinks about the dangerous way people drive, but very few ever have to confront it as you did.
But knowing you, this experience will only deepen your love for India. My sincerest best wishes for you as you process this experience.
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