Being Thankful

Even as I gasped and struggled in the waters,memories of me asking

mother as to why someone who didn't know swimming would go near a

water body flashed through my mind.My tone had been condescending and

dismissive of their ‘foolishness’.Mom of course was more worldly wise

and besides explaining that thing called ‘fate’ she cautioned me

against speaking ill of the dead.

I sat mum for three hours straight even as my friends played the

cricket match we had set out to.I had been rescued by a classmate and

how I felt for the rest of the day cannot be put in words.That

evening,even as my mom said a small prayer choking with tears and

hugged me,remorse and thankfulness weren't mere adjectives anymore.I

had felt death up close and personal.

One night,11 years later,I was driving all agog with excitement that

being my first time on a highway.

Surrounded by fumes from trucks and the dust floating around,I decided

to get the visor of my helmet down.It was all smooth till the traffic

remained sluggish.An open road ensured higher speeds and cruising at

speeds well above 60 kmph,I was dazzled by the glare of the headlights

from a row of trucks coming from the opposite direction.A high beam

from an incoming vehicle reflected by the glass of the visor was

something I hadn’t experienced before and I was blinded for a good

five seconds. Even as I applied the brakes instinctively,I could hear

my pillion ask if

everything was fine,blissfully unaware of what had happened.As I

started the bike again and the

headlight flashed ahead,I stared at a huge mound of freshly excavated

soil.Another 10 secs at the same speed and we could've been

history.Shaken,I covered the rest of the journey with my visor up and

the speed below 40.

God obviously wanted to hammer a few lessons into me it seems coz

something similar transpired a month back.

Travelling on a chopper with a VVIP,I was all snug and comfy catching

up on lost sleep when I first smelt smoke.I looked around.Nobody else

seemed to have smelt it and they were all napping.

“You’re travelling with someone so important.Everything must’ve been

cross-checked at least thrice.Stop being silly.” I was trying to

convince myself back to sleep when the helicopter made a strange

growling sound and sparks flew from the left part of the roof.By then

others had also noticed it coz the smoke had grown too strong to

ignore.Miles away from land,surrounded by water all around,I feared

the inevitable.I remembered my parents and siblings and said a small

prayer for them lest that be my last prayer ever.A few anxious moments

later,the crew announced we were going back to base.

I survived the ordeal and that incident made me recollect the previous

two incidents where perhaps God was sending me a sign which I just

couldn’t catch.

When faced with imminent death all I could wish for was the happiness

of my parents and siblings.Perhaps a sign that family comes

first.Always.

Being a little thankful for what we’ve been blessed with is something

we often miss out on.While asking for more is fine,remembering to be

grateful for what’s already ours is perhaps more

important.

As Lemony Snicket puts it beautifully “It is a miracle if you have

true friends,and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat,and it

is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever

you like to do and the holiday season-like all the other seasons-is a

good time not only to tell stories of miracles,but to think of the

miracles in your own life,and be grateful for them.”

I seem to have encountered quite a few miracles in my life and I’m

thankful..immensely thankful.

True...Ain't it?