In those days temporary jobs were rare, you could sometime get to work for PWD (present day MoWHS), but the daily wage was Nu.5.00 or lesser. But Nu.5.00 was quite a huge some those days. With Nu.100.00 you could get one good Teri cotton gho and a bata chapel. The temporary job in PWD at Monger was already filled up with strong looking boys. We were quite lanky and not very strong and they rarely took us as a laborer. One of my friends uncle had a 1210 E truck and they needed one handy boy for about one month. So i thought i was lucky that i need not bother my poor parents for the expenses for the next academic session. My guru ji (Driver ) was from Tezpur, Assam and he looked quite frail with old age. The owner of the truck introduce me to the driver and said i was to be his handy boy for one month. The driver looked at me and just nodded. I could sense the driver wasnt too happy because i was very young and not so healthy looking boy. i am sure the driver thought it was more of a burden with my recruitment since it was for sure that i could hardly lift any tyre, whereas handy boy was constantly with tyre repairs. The first day on the job was to get river sand from Chazam (dangmechu) for someones construction at yonphula. After the truck was filled with sand we started our journey back to Yonphula. It was not even two kilometers that we travelled the rear left side of the tyre got punctured. It was a must that the handy boy should immediately get down from the roof of the truck and should place a stone behind the tyre. With that i had to take out the jack, range and woodka (a pieces of wood blocks for placing jack on top), and we had to take out the spare tyre from the lower portion of the truck. Thereafter, it was a real hard work until we readied the spare tyre. I think i wasnt a good handy boy and i cant remember for how many times the driver scolded me. My Guruji was not really pleased with the first task of re-fitting the tyre. Finally we reached near Sherubtsi college gate. The moment i was Sherubtsi it always fascinated me with the lovely buildings around and the tall tower. We also met some college students neatly dressed, both boys and girls and they looked really smart. The moment i saw them i would day dream and start imagining all sorts....in my day dream i would see myself amongst them very smartly dress and with a side combed hair. My day dream would never last long either my Guruji would call me...kancha or if at home my mother would really shout at me staying lost most of the time. She would often call me youngba. But the day dream on the truck almost prove fatal on that day. As we were moving along Sherubtsi college, i was no more sitting on the roof top but was standing with my hands holding tight on the roof of the truck and was really busy enjoying the beauty of Sherubtsi. Amidst the enjoyment, i didnt realize there was an old telephone wire criss crossing in between sherubtsi and Dantak camp above the road. Unluckily before i could see and react, the wire got struck under my chin. With the slow movement of the truck the wire has been also slowly dragged under my chin and i was dying a slow dead of suffocation. At that moment, i could not think of anything not even any lamas, i only thought it was end of me and my part. Luckily i believe the telephone wire was really old because it could not stand the tension even for a few second and got snap within second. See how lucky i am to be still living to narrate this!!!! Honestly you dont become a real man so easily. You have to cross so many life threatening incidents.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:24:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015