This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 7; the seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
“Come on Sam! You can just one point!” his team-mates were cheering him but I wanted him to loose. Sameer Arora aka Sam as he liked to call himself. Sam was the semi-finalist the year before whereas Srinu his opponent was an underdog. I was supporting Srinu not only because he was from our batch and we practiced together but we didn’t want that arrogant Sam to win. So we were giving experts tips to Srinu as to How to overcome Sam and I sent a silent prayer to favour Srinu. That day for a change God had listened to me. Srinu had won the match and went onto quarter-finals. We celebrated with strawberry juice. Oh I’ll never forget the look on Sam’s face.
But that was all a year back. Today an email from HR left me aghast. It said
“Colleagues,
It is with deep regret that we inform you about the sad demise of our colleague Sameer Arora, in a tragic road accident on Saturday.
We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family.
Let us observe two minutes silence at 3.00pm today as a mark of respect to the departed soul.
We pray to the Almighty to give his family courage and strength to overcome this grief. May his soul rest in peace.”
I rushed to his project and found his photo on his cubicle and his bereaved team-mates narrated that Sameer was returning from a party that night and he had his helmet on and had stopped at a signal. A little girl had smiled and waved at him from a neighbouring car and he had taken off his helmet to talk to the little one. Just then a speeding SUV with drunken driver on the wheel lost control of the vehicle and knocked Sameer down fatally. After listening to this tale a lot What Ifs came to mind but the truth is Sameer is no more with us.
Every year thousands of people die on roads due to drunken driving. We have stringent rules in place but unless we ourselves do not follow the rules we will have to come face to face with such ugly What Ifs.
This post is based on true events and last week I have lost someone I knew. The reason why I replaced the original post for blog-a-ton is more people will read this and would request you to spread the message.
PS: Though this one based on true events names and other details have been changed for privacy purpose.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
Shilpa Garg
Feb 06, 2010 @ 10:01:16
Oh! Truly tragic!
What if… the lil’ girl had not smiled.
What if…he had not looked at the girl.
What if… the light was green.
What if…he had not taken that route.
What if… he had not removed his helmet.
*Sigh* There could be lots of What If…
A very moving and poignant post!
Hope people follow safe driving rules always!
Dhiman: That’s the purpose of this post so that people become more careful while driving…
SiD
Feb 06, 2010 @ 22:07:25
Amen.
Dhiman: Thank you…
Sureindran
Feb 07, 2010 @ 10:53:48
hello mate. I find it thrilling. Good luck for the batom and keep writing!
Dhiman: Thank you for dropping by and appreciating the post ….
psychedchick
Feb 07, 2010 @ 12:19:00
I think the most important what if over here is “what if that man wasnt driving when he was drunk’
Very important message. Good work!
Dhiman: Yeah Rashi drunk driving is main issue here …. hope the message spreads accross…
TheNewCloud
Feb 08, 2010 @ 12:09:39
Tragic and Poignant Post !!! 🙂 Long time no see mate !!
Dhiman: Thanks ! Yeah I have been a little off the blogosphere ….but I have been visiting http://www.poorjokes.in 😀
Megha
Feb 08, 2010 @ 20:05:04
That was real tragic 😦
May his soul finds peace.
This is a good forum to raise the voice. Every driver should carry the moral responsibility of safe driving. After all it’s the matter of life and death.
Dhiman: Absolutely… I mean its Ok to be a little adventurous but one should remember when driving we are responsible for other’s life as well…
Shruti
Feb 08, 2010 @ 22:46:41
Road accidents are really fatal! May his soul RIP! Like Psychedchick said, Drunken diving is the reason for this!
Dhiman: Yeah one need to be careful but drunk driving is an absolute no no ….
Madhu | INDImag.com
Feb 09, 2010 @ 00:56:15
So sorry to hear a young man died needlessly. Given it is so preventable, to see people perish to drunken idiots is tragic and sad. Hope the driver pays for his crime..
Thanks for your comment on my post ; made my day 🙂
Dhiman: Yeah Madhu I too hope that the driver pays for his crime and this what I am trying to highlight … see here not only one person lost his life … the driver too has to spend his life behind bars …
Your post is really awesome 😀
Varun Reddy
Feb 09, 2010 @ 10:18:12
I will never know how it feels when a close one dies because I feel immune to the pain and suffering around me. But this post highlights one main thing – you may not die drinking, but you may kill others in the process.
Dhiman: Thats what and also land up in jail in the process…
Dilontherocks
Feb 09, 2010 @ 12:18:50
Thats so sad to hear. Wish each of us could be more careful..
Dhiman: Amen!
Harsha Chittar
Feb 09, 2010 @ 12:39:51
very sad to hear about your friend. driving while drunk should be punished severely, will join you in spreading the message. we need to be that extra careful all the time.
Dhiman: Yeah like Megha has said before its a matter of life and death….Thank you for spreading this message ….
Tanmaya Acharya
Feb 09, 2010 @ 13:51:03
A very important message conveyed through the post… glad you did it.. and my condolences
Dhiman: Thank you Tanmaya …
Pushpee
Feb 09, 2010 @ 15:01:20
too sad, wish ppl would control their drinking habits and drink within limits…
Dhiman: Yes Pushpee… people should avoid the wheel specially after heavy drinking …
Annyesha
Feb 09, 2010 @ 16:32:13
Good post with a very important message.. I am sorry for ur loss.. and I pray that no one loses their dear ones to the stupid revelry of others..
Dhiman: Amen Annyesha … one has to be aware even before someone known is lost….
Karthik
Feb 09, 2010 @ 18:35:02
Sorry to know.
A strong message indeed. I’m glad you wrote this post.
Dhiman: Thanks Karthik for the support… the message should be spread across…
Murali
Feb 09, 2010 @ 22:50:51
Very tragic, more so that it happened to someone you know……….
Dhiman: That’s the worst part you realize when you see someone known go …
Avada Kedavra
Feb 10, 2010 @ 01:54:02
That’s really sad Dhiman 😦 I lost a cousin too in an accident and it was really shocking. A very strong message. Hope more people read it and realize it.
Dhiman: Oh … my condolences for your cousin … that’s what we should realize it before it happens to us or someone known to us…
sm
Feb 10, 2010 @ 03:36:29
what if
our Indian law keep such a driver behind bar
forever
Dhiman: Yes SM .. atleast the fear of such a punishment should keep ppl from drunken driving…
Shahid
Feb 10, 2010 @ 06:56:05
It was nice that u decided to write something socially relevant…cheers and good luck for BATOM
SHahid
Dhiman: Thanks actually I had some other thing but after this event I felt atleast this way I could do something for it…
Archana
Feb 10, 2010 @ 17:35:35
A nice message to be shared..Being careful on roaed is our duty…no matter what..
Dhiman: Thanks for your support …it’ll be very nice if the word is spread…
Mahesh Kalaal
Feb 10, 2010 @ 18:04:30
Hmmmm………… so sad
wish atleast one what if had worked…
Dhiman: yeah then it would have been a happy situation altogether … but it will best if such situations can be avoided…
Gyanban
Feb 12, 2010 @ 09:42:23
Reminded me of a movie called Reservation Road. If you ever get a chance watch it.
You know very often we read articles,and snippets about people dying on the roads,but it doesn’t really hit you ,because there is so much of it happening everyday, that you become immune and it leads to ignorance..till one day it hits you. Hits you real hard,when your loved one is dead before he or she could reach the hospital.
The question is not about if , it really is about when…. so think before you drink before drive.
Gyanban
Feb 12, 2010 @ 09:43:55
Dhiman: Absolutely Bang on! Most important Think before you drive after drinking….I do Hope message spreads across
Nishita
Feb 23, 2010 @ 12:21:25
Very sad to hear this…drunk driving has become a real menace these days. Almost every other day, we seem to be reading about it in the papers. When will people understand…
Dhiman: yeah its a bigger issue in Bangalore ….but by awareness we can certainly reduce it…
vish3116
Jun 24, 2010 @ 18:31:53
Poignant post. man…this incident is so very identical to the one i remebr in a movie where the actor laments over the news of his gf’s death. he thinks ‘what if’ …the entire sequence rewinds to the time..to the alarm clock…which had deceived him to wake up late. So, he broods…dat he dint wake up late…his gf wudn’t have crossed the road to come to office n met with an accident.
Rather, he cud hav dropped her n the mishap cud hav been averted.
Dhiman:Thanks for the comment! ‘What if’ is always in retrospection …sadly 😦
namit
Aug 12, 2010 @ 07:32:19
nice post…n a sad one too…
namit
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Dhiman: Yeah one of the few sad ones….