Now I know what 6 inches mean...

As we grow old, our perspective of looking at incidents or happenings changes. Our reaction to a particular incident may be different when we are at age 15 than when we are at 25. And when we are in an advanced age as me, then, the perspective just changes entirely.

Living in Mumbai, one is never too far from potentially dangerous situations and incidents. Travelling in a local train during peak hours is nothing short of putting your life at risk. Walk on roads, pavements can be potentially hazardous too.

But, what one is not prepared for is a freak incident / accident. Even though, whenever one hears or reads about a freak incident, it invokes a sense of shock and pity for the victim, but, it is difficult to prepare oneself for a freak incident. 

And if you happen to experience it or happen to be a victim of it, then you come out of it confused. Cause, it is not a regular thing that you can learn from it and be careful for the next time. Or, you don’t know anyone who has gone through it to share it with. Nor can you expect anyone to understand it, cause it is freak and very difficult for anyone else to relate to it. But, the one thing that it does to you is, it freaks you out.

Here is what happened:

“The weather today is so gloomy,” read a message from a friend on my phone as I was walking towards my building. On a day when newspapers were filled with stories of the previous day being the hottest day and how everyone should brace up for summers, this particular afternoon, had turned surprisingly windy and cloudy. A haze had engulfed the city, which made the sun look as if we are looking at it through an opaque glass. With your sunglasses on, you could actually look at the sun and see its circumference clearly like a proper circle.

But, I particularly like such weather, when the breeze is just strong enough to not make you feel the heat and there is enough shade (thanks to the clouds). I took a longer route than usual just to walk in the ‘gloomy’ weather.

With the breeze hitting my face and ruffling my hair, I happily reached my building, upon entering the gate, I exchanged my usual pleasantries with the watchman. The building and the premises were expectedly quite as it was afternoon time and most of the families are either sleeping or watching TV. And expectedly, no one wanted to venture out in the ‘gloomy’ weather.

As I walking towards the entrance of the building, suddenly, out of nowhere, the entire building shook and resonated in a loud bang. The noise was so loud that it echoed for a couple of seconds in the quite neighbourhood. It was so loud and so close that I instinctively ducked. Just as I gathered myself to figure out what had happened, I saw the watchman and a couple of people frantically running towards me and asking me if was okay.

I told them I was okay, more amused at myself for having reacted the way I did only to a noise. Everything happened so fast that I was still trying to figure out what had happened, as a slow humming sound filled my ears making it difficult to hear.

I only realised the freakiness and enormity of the incident, when I saw my forearm all glittery as if someone had put lots of chamki on it and my shoes and the ground beneath covered with brown coloured glass shards and shrapnel.

A huge glass panel had come-off from its holdings on the 19^th floor and had come crashing down to earth in full force. And it went past just 6 inches above my head and left shoulder and crash landed on the boundary wall, shattering and spreading glass pieces all around.

The Spot Where I was Walking

First reaction after realising what had happened was, “Maa ki Aankh, bach gaya”. While the security guard, watchman and others started clamouring around to figure out what had happened.

But, as I continued to stand there and the incident began to sink in, the questions started popping up in the mind.. What if, it was 6 inches to the right..? What if I was 6 inches to the left..? What is, this..? What if, that..?

Within a fraction of a second I also recollected a case way back in 2003 which I had covered as a television reporter in Aaj Tak, when a glass panel from the 25^th floor of the Oberoi Hotel had fallen on a lady who was sitting near the pool and she had instantly died.

The spot where the glass crash-landed

I kind of replayed the whole scenario in my mind. Like a slow motion picture, I could actually see myself walking in the building gate, my right hand slowly coming up to wave at the watchman, in the same scene I could also see the glass panel shaking vigorously due to the strong wind. As they show in the movies, I could see, one by one, each screw coming off further loosening the brown coloured glass.

In the next scene, just as I finished my salute to the watchman, I could see the glass panel coming off all its attachment and diving towards the ground. And within a fraction of a second, come crashing down half-a-feet away from me.

But the one question which remained and still remains at the top of my mind - was it thanks to the ‘gloomy’ and windy weather that I managed to escape unscathed and unhurt.

During its few seconds long nose-dive from the 19^th floor, did the glass pane waver in its trajectory due to the strong winds. I guess so, or I may never know. But, the one thing that I know for sure now, is, what 6 inches means - it is probably a difference between life and death.