Amidst waiting for the next dead body to be buried at the graveyard near my home, I felt like writing this article. May be this is the only way I could express my feelings. It was last evening when my brother read out this shocking news, on WhatsApp, the fastest “news-giver” of our times. He exclaimed, “10 students from Abeda Inamdar College, Pune die after drowning in the sea while on a picnic to Murud in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.”
It is human nature, I realised, that if someone or something located nearer to us physically is lost, we relate to the loss immediately. Daily deaths elsewhere in Syria, Nigeria, Palestine or for that matter any other random city in India – haven’t we become used to all this now? They don’t have that much impact on our daily schedules but this one really did.
I took my cell phone in my hand and as expected, I had received the same message in various groups, but yes there was an additional info, thanks to the fast technology, the names of the drowned students also appeared. Another ten minutes and the photos of the bodies lying in hospital, lifeless and still bodies on the tonga, locals rescuing students, flashed on my cell phone screen. I don’t know whether WhatsApp is a blessing or curse, but yes somewhere down the line we all have become dependent on it. I switched on the Marathi news channels to confirm the news and indeed it was there. Fourteen students among a group of about 120 students studying BCS at Abeda Inamdar College had lost their lives. There were prayers and sadness all around. Everyone on the groups was remembering the deceased as someone’s cousin, someone’s school junior, someone’s far off relative, as though the WhatsApp community in this particular part of Pune had united in grief.
Within an hour the typical blame game had begun. Few blamed the college, few others the government and some blamed the students. Girish Bapat, Guardian Minister of Pune reached the site of the incident within a few hours and announced, of course after paying usual condolences, a sum of Rs. 2 lakh from the Government of Maharashtra to each of the families of the deceased.
Everything till now seemed normal to me. Maybe we all are so used to hearing death news, that like any other event we were “ok” with this one too! I thought something was really wrong with me, I declared my heart has become lifeless, until I shared this feeling with a friend who consoled me saying that she was going through the same thoughts.
As the night enfolded, news channels now flashed photos of the mob arriving at the Abeda Inamdar College. Some family members, some just for fun, some really worried, some wishing to come on TV by standing in front of media cameras. My friends at the same college hostel informed me about the stone-pelting incidents taking place over there, shouts by angry mobs, which made them really worried.
Another lesson I learnt that mob mentality makes you forget basic rights and wrongs. This gives a boost to opposition political outfits to serve their petty ends. Rumours spread that the trip was made compulsory and the teacher in-charges were negligent. Media persons checked for “danger” signboards at the beach, blamed the government for not finding the same.
All this made me think, is death really avoidable? This particular picnic was scheduled for Saturday i.e. 30 January but due to some reason got postponed to Monday i.e. 1 February. Had they gone on Saturday, could the same thing happen? From a group of 120 students only 25 chose to enter the sea in order to save time and enjoy a little more. What if all had gone, could it have been a worse catastrophe? I don’t know there are so many “coulds and woulds” now. Maybe all this was destined, all pre-written. Today we can just mourn their loss and self-introspect where we as a society went wrong rather than putting blame on others.
I wish to reassert my faith in humanity today, which I keep losing bit by bit every morning after reading the newspaper. The people who provided the first hand help didn’t care about the religion, region or caste of the students. The efforts of locals, hospital staff and vigilant and brave students like Iftekhar Shaikh, who lost his life saving two girls and returning back to save the third, need to be applauded here. Due to their efforts 4-5 lives were saved. It reminds me of the Qur’ān (5:32):
“Whosoever kills one innocent human it is as though he has killed the entire humanity, whosoever saves one human it is as though he has saved the entire humanity.”
While passing by Abeda Inamdar Campus the next day, I could feel the silence and the pain. Police barricades were placed to avoid any untoward incident. A day’s off was declared for all colleges and schools in the vicinity.
The very same day I went to my college, located in another part of Pune. No one there seemed to know about this sad incident, no condolence messages were sent on college WhatsApp groups; at least I couldn’t feel the same vibes there as I had felt in this part of the city. I realised we live in a huge world with so many different identities, aspirations, beliefs. Maybe, because Pune itself is such a huge city with so many colleges and so many students that a loss to one is not always a loss to another. Or, maybe, because most of the students belonged to this minority ghetto “Kondhwa”, which does not form an important topic for discourse elsewhere.
Another instance I wish to share is of the day when I returned from our neighbour Mr. Sharma’s home after watching the last rites of one of the students from his balcony as it gave a better view. I realised the unworthiness of us humans. The sight of the people leading the funeral, the student wrapped up in green cloth being taken to his last destination, the grave ready for its next visitor made me think of the smallest of issues we fight for, be it religion, caste or class. Is this why we live for? When we know our final destination is the same. Death can strike us any moment. Who among those jolly students knew that their selfies that day would probably be their last?
The photo of the tongawallahs rushing the lifeless bodies to the hospital ignited in me a new desire to know about the human mind. Care, compassion, love and empathy are natural reactions of all humans, situated anywhere. It is hard to believe that the same humans kill each other in the name of religion and caste. It is due to the few vested interests of individuals who like colouring every incident as saffron or green to arouse the masses.
Let us forget the past and learn some really important lessons from this horrifying incident. Pelting stones, damaging college property, abusing each other would not result in anything substantial. These viral videos help no one but cause more damage to the families of the innocents. Students should keep fun and enjoyment one side and safety and precaution on the other. The government should notify risky picnic spots and make available lifeguards and other necessities to avoid such tragedies in future. The colleges on their part must ensure basic safety norms and imbibe in students basic life-saving and first aid skills along with normal curriculum.
Lastly, let us pray for the families of the students and ponder over where we are heading towards. Why such a hurry to go to job, college and school? Each day seems like a battle to earn quick money in less time? We skip signals, break rules and one fine day die catching local trains, but still REFUSE to change…. Are we really heading towards development?