Longest 100 metre that I had ever covered: The eventful day, 31st October, 1997, vividly still I remember. On that year, Kali Puja and Diwali was observed on 30th October. During that period I was posted at Regional Staff Selection Office(NE), Guwahati. Except me and two other officials, none was present in the office. At around 2-30 PM, I told my Assistant, Mr. Ahmed, that I should also leave the office. At that time itself, my phone rang. It was a phone call from my closest friend from my village. He told me that my father had been seriously ill so I should come home alongwith my mother and brother. But, from the voice of my friend, I was almost sure that my father had been no more. Actually on that morning itself my mother left home for Shillong, where my sister used to live with her family. Luckily she(my mother) stayed back at by brother’s place on her way to Shillong. In those days, I did not have a landline phone (need not have to say that there was no mobile for the common people at that time.) , though I deposited for it, a few years back. I went to brother’s place and told my mother to be ready for returning home by the earliest available bus as my father was reportedly fell sick. She was surprised, as, she left my father in the morning in a healthy condition. In fact, my father saw her off at the bus stand which is 1.5 KM from our home. At that time, my brother was also not at his home. So, I have to drive my scooter to his office to tell the news. He consoled me that, since Tora(my friend) telephoned me at my office, my father’s condition might not be that bad. Otherwise, how Tora would have known my office number? But, I was adamant that, he should also accompany me and my mother. Next day, my niece had an admission test in a reputed school, therefore, my sister in law also insisted that my brother should stay back. But I insisted, that my brother should also come with me. Somehow, I could able to convince them to change their stance. At 6-30 PM, we took a bus which would go to North Lakhimpur via my village, Sootea. By 11-30 PM the bus dropped us at the highway from where our home was about 100 metre away. During the whole journey period, we seldom uttered any word except my mother was repeating the same sentence, ‘ When I left home, he was perfectly alright. How he can be seriously ill?’ After getting down from the bus, I told my brother to come slowly with our mother as I wanted to go fast. I sped up to cover that 100 metre as fast as possible. But, I thought that 100 metre would not end. It appeared, I was walking for decades to reach my home and finally when I reached home, I was told that my father had expired at 2-15 PM due to massive heart attack. Dedicated to my father
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 12:25:51 +0000
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