The Observer- Episode 4

The invicible feeling- understanding life

It was a nervous day for me as 2002 drew to a close. Mano and my friends made it a point to mock me right before PMR examinations were about to start about 'Moral not being part of PMR'. Well, that was a story of its own.

I remember Ms. Sathiya Devi was teaching our class Moral back in 2002. I hardly gave a pint to the subject, I never took notes, nor did I bother to concentrate on what was being taught in class. Just like any other 'Moral' day, she entered the class and I yawned with Mano seated next to me. He grumbled and let a sly smile knowing that I didn't read anything which I was asked to read by the teacher the week before. But Ms. Sathiya somehow decided that she would pop out a quizzical question to me first rather than to anybody else in the class who have actually read the materials. I stuttered and let in my trademark teeth-glittering smile at her, hoping fervently that she would just let me off the hook and ask me to resume my sitting and nothing-ness while she runs the class. But it wasn't to happen, thanks to my late friend Mano. He popped up and told the class what I whispered to his ears when Ms. Sathiya first entered the class- 'Moral is not in PMR, so why should I bother?'. I tapped at his arms a couple of times stopping him from saying it, but he decided he would say it, and he told it out loud to the class. Ram doesn't bother because Moral is not part of PMR. That was the statement that made the day. Ms. Sathiya let in a sly smile and seemed to nod with my statement. But she had to defend the subject as a teacher of it. So she, in a completely sarcastic manner, asked me to write a latter or inform the school principal about my thoughts and she would be more than happy to excuse me from attending Moral every week. But I preferred to stay in the class, rather than outside, so I let in a humiliated smile and sat back on my chair, dropping the subject (not to forget the strong stare into Mano for breaking 'our' secret').

The buddies had a laugh repeating that scene again during PMR, and obviously had a knack doing it again on the second day of PMR. I walked into the hall, as nervous as I always am during an exam day, did the exam, slept through the remaining time for the exam to finish (I wouldn't wanna go back without my buddies on tow), and walked out with a feeling of relief. Soon after, we forgot all our exam blues and decided to just have a blast for our journey back home. Only me, Vinod, and Thiru were able to make it together on our bicycles at the end of the day, and we passed the general market and moved to the main road and crossed it in front of the Fire Station. And then it happened. Thiru crossed flawlessly, and Vinod urged me to cross as well as he is about to cross. He got a headstart and crossed, and I started crossing as well. All I saw was Vinod's bicycle crossing halfway the road and a Kembara van appeared in full speed and I realized in that second that my cycle is completely placed in the way of the approaching van. Vinod has done his nuttiest job ever, I said to myself. I knew it was going to happen. And it did. The next thing I knew was that I flew a good meter or more and ended up inches away from the big drainage on the roadside. I expected myself to have broken bones, internal bleeding, or even external bleeding, but I woke up unscratched. I looked at myself in amazement, checking where I might have a crack or a spate of blood. But there was nothing, except for a recurring fever that followed for a week later, which subsequently led to a X-Ray test in fears that there might be a blood clot or some kind of swelling inside my head. There was nothing to it there either.

I felt like I was returning from the dead, and wondered why had I escaped alive from that episode. Approximately a year later, I found myself dreaming a weird dream (as explained in Episode 3), which resulted in my dream today. And if there is any logical connection to my sudden ability to write so much at such little time, and to be always thinking of a new story, this accident might well have had the biggest say in altering my mind to what it is today.

And even in that nightmare of a day, it might have well been a blessing in disguise. Because there is no bigger blessing than life itself.