Angels walk among us

Yesterday my friend's young daughter met with a motorcar accident. She was with her friend and both of the them were injured. The injuries were moderately severe, but wasn't life threatening. My friend and his wife live in Chandigarh and his daughter works in Bangalore. The accident happened here in Bangalore late on the night before.

My friend rang me up at about 7 in the morning about the accident and gave me a number to contact. I contacted the person who owned the number and asked him where my friend's daughter was. He told me the name of the hospital and reassured me that everything was under control. I was familiar with the hospital and it was near my house too. I asked him if I could come to the hospital in an hour because I had a few things to settle at home before coming to the hospital. He told me to take my time. 

When I reached the hospital, I understood the enormity of the situation that he had handled. The young man was a complete stranger to my friend's daughter, or the daughter's friend. Late into the night, he had heard a huge bang outside his paying guest (or, PG as it is called here in Bangalore) and he rushed outside. A car on the road was a mess owing to an accident that had just happened and the driver and the passenger of the car were in a shock. With the help of some onlookers he pulled them out. He made himself as the person in charge of the situation. With the help of some others, he brought them to a hospital, somewhat calming the daughter and her friend out of their anxiety and pain. He then realised that he should take the ladies to another hospital where the facilities for treatment were more and charges were slightly less. With a determined and extraordinary effort he did that too.

My friend's daughter was in such a shock that she didn't even remember her father's contact details. She told him to go her PG and find a bag in her room wherein her father's number was written on a piece of paper. It would be a brave man who would venture inside a ladies' PG in the middle of the night to find a contact detail. He did that too! Mind you, he was just a wage earner who delivered packages like the delivery boys of the popular food delivery services. So, every hour that he was with the ladies was time he would otherwise be out to earn his living. The most humbling thing for me was that he wouldn't even accept my gratitude as if the deed that he had just done was par for the course for him.

Then, about this other girl who came in to help at the hospital at 4 in the morning. This girl, was friends with the daughter's friend. Their friendship had blossomed at the common PG that they had stayed together. This girl is from Manipur. And what a girl she is too! She took charge of the entire admission process of the hospital. This included the calming effect she had on the girls who had met with the accident. This also included the emotional and financial support this student from Manipur gave to her PG friend when the latter was crying out that she couldn't afford the treatment in the hospital. And their friendship was just a year old!

Although, I kept telling her that she could go now, and that I would take it from there, she did not leave her friend till she saw her friend get admitted into the postoperative care ward... after a pretty long operation in the OT. That was late into the night.

I can't forget her gossamer touch on her friend's forehead as the latter was wheeled into the OT. It was just magical.

I really learnt a lesson or two from this gentleman and the lady on selfless service. Angels walk among us.