It happened on my way home acting as guide to my brother who had never cycled all the way to school till that day. I had accompanied him to School that morning, finished my classes for the day and gone to my Uncle's place; the plan was to go to M's School around the time he would be ready to leave and come home together; give him company and more importantly, moral support (psst- peace of mind for Ma n Pa too). You see, Im (regarded as) the more mature, careful, prudent sibling. Hee haw.
On the route we took, there used to be few rough patches, a couple of speed bumps, one open manhole, two sand traps, one manned junction and one unmanned junction where we needed to turn right. We made good time and not a single mistake till the last hurdle. If you're on a bicycle on a wide and busy road without any divider, you would normally ride on the left and if you need to turn right, you would normally do one of two things. 1- Get off your haunches and cross the road on foot, rolling the bicycle along. Clever Boy, M. He executed to perfection; I was satisfied that he was safe, so decided to demonstrate method 2- slow down, look behind you for traffic approaching unseen, look ahead for oncoming traffic and if both sides are free, you look at the turning you intend to take and make a final check for any goonk coming out of there onto the main road. I did all three- all clear. So I start to turn. And then Swish, Swish, Dhaaaamp, Screeeeeeeeeeech, Hoooooooonk and... Wheeeee! Im flying... flying... feels ridiculous that Im waiting to land! It was a moment so vivid and so long that I still remember atleast two dozen things I noticed while I was in the air! Individual passersby registered on me, their eyes round, mouths agape. I couldnt help but notice that the scooter that hit me was a hideous chalky blue. The guy driving it had jumped off and was standing in the middle of the road while his bike was skidding after my trajectory. The paan-waala starting to run from his tin shack, the white Ambassador (from the opposite lane) towards which I was flying and its insolent driver who didnt so much as apply the brakes. Just before I made contact with the asphalt I remember turning to look at M standing on the other side of the road, a deathly look of horror on his face which said he thought this was IT. Thats what helped my survival instincts kick in.
I landed on the road in a classic Mermaid-sunning-herself-on-the-rocks pose and bounced thrice before rolling straight towards the white Ambassador. I was actually thinking by then- "I need to protect my head and avoid that car". So I managed to curl my arms around my head just as I started rolling, keeping an eye on which direction I was headed all the while! Maybe because I had kind of "balled up", I rolled for a longish distance before stopping inches from the gleaming steel bumper of the Amby. Next thing I remember thinking is that I must not move immediately because I must have broken bones. The paan-waala had reached me by then and helped me get up even as I saw the Scooter guy scoot away to save his pathetic ass.
My Ladybird was totaled; punctured rear tyre, broken rim, handle bar grotesquely turned 360 degrees, chain hanging lose. M had to carry it home on his shoulders while I gingerly rolled along the SLR. It was a miracle I didnt actually break any bones. Apart from sundry scratches and bruises, I ached all over and my outfit was ripped at the knees. There were three contact points when I landed- base of both palms and the outside of my left thigh- to say the least, they were battered and I had the biggest blue-black bruise on my thigh for months afterwards. And to think all it took was one moment. One interminable moment.
PS- To mark my longest moment, a Pearl ring sits pretty on my right hand to this day-Granny felt they shouldn't put anyone past the occasional 'crazy maverick' antic ;-) I tag Dave, Rumpel, Elcexar, Nash and Maloy to write about their longest moment.
On the route we took, there used to be few rough patches, a couple of speed bumps, one open manhole, two sand traps, one manned junction and one unmanned junction where we needed to turn right. We made good time and not a single mistake till the last hurdle. If you're on a bicycle on a wide and busy road without any divider, you would normally ride on the left and if you need to turn right, you would normally do one of two things. 1- Get off your haunches and cross the road on foot, rolling the bicycle along. Clever Boy, M. He executed to perfection; I was satisfied that he was safe, so decided to demonstrate method 2- slow down, look behind you for traffic approaching unseen, look ahead for oncoming traffic and if both sides are free, you look at the turning you intend to take and make a final check for any goonk coming out of there onto the main road. I did all three- all clear. So I start to turn. And then Swish, Swish, Dhaaaamp, Screeeeeeeeeeech, Hoooooooonk and... Wheeeee! Im flying... flying... feels ridiculous that Im waiting to land! It was a moment so vivid and so long that I still remember atleast two dozen things I noticed while I was in the air! Individual passersby registered on me, their eyes round, mouths agape. I couldnt help but notice that the scooter that hit me was a hideous chalky blue. The guy driving it had jumped off and was standing in the middle of the road while his bike was skidding after my trajectory. The paan-waala starting to run from his tin shack, the white Ambassador (from the opposite lane) towards which I was flying and its insolent driver who didnt so much as apply the brakes. Just before I made contact with the asphalt I remember turning to look at M standing on the other side of the road, a deathly look of horror on his face which said he thought this was IT. Thats what helped my survival instincts kick in.
I landed on the road in a classic Mermaid-sunning-herself-on-the-rocks pose and bounced thrice before rolling straight towards the white Ambassador. I was actually thinking by then- "I need to protect my head and avoid that car". So I managed to curl my arms around my head just as I started rolling, keeping an eye on which direction I was headed all the while! Maybe because I had kind of "balled up", I rolled for a longish distance before stopping inches from the gleaming steel bumper of the Amby. Next thing I remember thinking is that I must not move immediately because I must have broken bones. The paan-waala had reached me by then and helped me get up even as I saw the Scooter guy scoot away to save his pathetic ass.
My Ladybird was totaled; punctured rear tyre, broken rim, handle bar grotesquely turned 360 degrees, chain hanging lose. M had to carry it home on his shoulders while I gingerly rolled along the SLR. It was a miracle I didnt actually break any bones. Apart from sundry scratches and bruises, I ached all over and my outfit was ripped at the knees. There were three contact points when I landed- base of both palms and the outside of my left thigh- to say the least, they were battered and I had the biggest blue-black bruise on my thigh for months afterwards. And to think all it took was one moment. One interminable moment.
PS- To mark my longest moment, a Pearl ring sits pretty on my right hand to this day-Granny felt they shouldn't put anyone past the occasional 'crazy maverick' antic ;-) I tag Dave, Rumpel, Elcexar, Nash and Maloy to write about their longest moment.
9 comments:
tag me! my longest moment was when my first born had to be given an injection...IV!...and the goonks decided to do it from the tender little pink foot.
@anon- I would, but I dont know who you are :)
Nice way to get us lazybones to write ;-)
Will pick up the tag shortly...
Hello P3, finished my part just now. catch it at - http://davearena.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-longest-moment.html
I am amazed, did we separate as newborns?? cos that flying through the air after a bicycle accident is all to vivid in my memory as well. This one also involved a dose of freshly laden asphalt grazing my knees for about half a kilometer. Cheers! We shall live :)
@B- Lazybone!! Write!!
@D- bet u have a lot of 'longest moments', not just one :P
@A- care to take up the tag?
yeah,i (li'l ol' monk) was standin by the side of the road, mouth gaping wide enough for a hippo to waltz in, gasping for breath feelin like somebody had punched me in the stomach (u see, u tend to lose ur composure when u see a loved one bouncing on their buttocks like a basket ball)..took me a while to recover from my stupor n come n help u.....that day will remain forever etched in my memory...how CAN i forget the murderous look u gave that arseh***.
Yeah.. he got away.. I would've clobbered him had he hung around :D
umm...this explains a lot to me.
The Preeti-shaped crater on the road near ram-mandir, for one.
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