Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Lunch Break: The Lunch that Broke Me

Wikipedia defines HELL as a place of suffering during afterlife where the wicked or unrighteous souls are punished. I would like to believe that I am neither ‘wicked’ nor ‘unrighteous’ and yet, I was subjected to hellish treatment this weekend. Well, it was rather a LONG weekend which began on Thursday afternoon, but it was definitely not a pleasant one.

So it was just another Thursday, when I got off the call with my boss and decided to get some lunch. But clearly, life had other plans. So one minute, I am crossing the road, and the next, I find myself flung on the road, my shoes and my skirt torn, and bruises on my ribs, hands and left leg. But wait, the worst is yet to come: my right leg simply refuses to move and there was a swelling the size of the cricket ball just below my knee. I kid you not (if I wanted to exaggerate, I would have said it was as big as a football)…

The culprit was one of those young bikers with flowing hair and a headband, who was also thrown off the bike, but I would never know how badly hurt he was as he gathered himself up and quickly rode away before the crowd could thrash him. Now, I would like to believe that I was the innocent victim, but as fair as I am, I know I am probably not the MOST cautious person while crossing streets. Still, the decent thing would have been to wait and help me, and for the record, I would have never ever pressed charges.

The next couple of hours were a blur, as I was helped by kind strangers who put me into an auto and a very kind friend who took me through the agonizing experience of a trip to the hospital, as I alternated between tears and laughter. I don’t know why I cried so much (physical pain is directly proportional to the feeling of vulnerability) but I do know I laughed because it was kind of fun being pushed around in a wheelchair as I couldn’t help wishing for this luxury every morning when I struggled to get an auto for work. Thankfully, the x-ray didn’t reveal any serious damage, and after a dose of injection and some routine tests I was let off. Since then I have been numbed by extremely strong painkillers, surviving on takeaway food and episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Now who would have thought that Penny would end up sleeping with Raj: even I wouldn’t have done that, despite the mind-numbing painkillers.

If that wasn’t enough, my fridge broke down and flooded my kitchen which meant that I couldn’t even fix myself a quick snack even if I did manage to drag myself till there. Suddenly my 500 sq feet hole of an apartment seemed like a soccer ground.

But the good part of adversity is that it reinforces that there are people who care about you, who rush to your rescue no matter how busy they are, who put up with your histrionics, who brave the rains/broken down autos/sickness/mean bosses to be there for you, to cook for you or simply to scold you over the phone…

So thank you… who know who you are! Kindness never ceases to surprise me…

10 comments:

ssoggo said...

Oh dear.. One of my worst nightmares - getting flung off my bike!
I can so empathise with you right now... Last year I fractured my ankle, and going to even the necessities was a headache! And that was with a wheelchair for me at home!

My best wishes to you to get well soon...

ssoggo said...

Oh dear.. One of my worst nightmares - getting flung off my bike!
I can so empathise with you right now... Last year I fractured my ankle, and going to even the necessities was a headache! And that was with a wheelchair for me at home!

My best wishes to you to get well soon...

Neil D'souza said...

Ouch! Heard about the incident, take care.

P.S - Dont remove the bandages even after you recover. Take advantage of the generosity of strangers & colleagues and milk the situation for all its worth !

Imperfectionist said...

You made the person sound like Voldemort - You Know Who! Haha.. :P

Nefertiti said...

@ssoggo
yeah, it sucks doesnt it? but then again, u thank ur stars that u got let off easily without any serious damage...

@neil
stop calling it an INCIDENT...it's an ACCIDENT
n no, my limping and crying refuses to melt the hearts of mumbai autowalas who still refuse to take me home


@imperfectionist
dont u knw by nw i DONT like harry potter? but thank u, n i really mean it...

Imperfectionist said...

@shimonti hw cud u miss the juice n the milk part.. crying our spilt Rs150 milk n juice :P

Neil D'souza said...

Pardon my insensitivity.

Ouch! Heard about the accident, take care.

Bangalore's autodrivers are much more kind hearted. They will take you anywhere as long as you pay double. Maybe you should consider a change of city.

Nefertiti said...

@Imperfectionist
shhh... that is OUR secret

@Neil
Blore auto drivers are so good that they force you to buy cars even if yu cant afford it. But I love the city... find me a job and I am there! Lately people from MY college seem to be joining YOUR company. Hint hint...

Neil D'souza said...

@Nefertiti - Blore is definitely better & that coming from someone with a lot of roots in Bombay.

Ohhh, I get it. You want people from My college to join Your company. Ill spread the word. You want them to forward their CVs directly to you?

Nefertiti said...

@neil
When I was young, I loved Mumbai (dont know why they changed the name. Bombay sounds soo much cooler), but now I think I prfer B'lore: good weather, cheaper real estate and yes, the 11 pm deadline rocks. N no, loser, m NOT asking people from your college to join my company. m asking you to find me a job in your company.