Note from the editor: Unboxed Writers had published an episode in an auto a few weeks back and had solicited readers for anecdotes about difficult situations they may have faced while commuting in their cities. We are publishing here a story by a reader, Sindhu Rao K S. This is her story in her words. We have shortened the first person account for editorial purposes but the essence of the story and the narrative voice are intact.
My name is Sindhu Rao K S. I work as a software engineer in Bangalore. Travelling for two hours ( one way ) to Electronic City for work is not an easy task. But with radio and an mp3 player giving me company, it is a fun trip, sometimes! And sleep helps too.
It’s 7.40 pm on a Thursday evening and I’m on my way back to home in office bus. The driver stops the bus as there’s a signal at Town Hall. I am not listening to songs or talking to anybody, or trying to put my hand out of the window. NO. I got a text, I see the light and within seconds , I feel like someone is reaching for the phone and running away. I started yelling,”PHONE PHONE” inside the bus, waking up everybody and within seconds, I get down from bus, between all those trucks, bus,cars etc to try to catch hold of him. I know, I know – that’s definitely not what one should be doing at that time but it wasn’t planned.
I get down and see a guy [wearing pink shirt] running away to another signal and I just start running and yelling these words randomly – “Phone, Thief, WAIT !!” I still don’t know if this is the same guy who grabbed the phone,but if you see somebody running away from you , what do you do ?
So, nobody around comes for help and I am still following him, barefoot! Hundred thoughts cross my mind, “will I catch hold of him ? Will he get away? Will he throw away my phone ? Are people gonna get to him,beat him up and give me back my phone? Where is my chappal? My bus !! OMG, I just got down from my bus without telling anybody and now I am running behind this man, how am I gonna go back home !” And I fall on my face. Hurting my knee, hand, leg stomach. I get up and start again. But now I feel like I have been just going nowhere and fall again trying to reach for help. This is where I think of the most stupidest thing ever, ” I fell for a guy, twice!!” Okay, not cool. I know.
After all that running, I see him talking to one more guy – No exchange of phones, nothing and he’s super calm. I go to him and start telling “PHONE, GIVE, ME,”! And he tells me that he’s running to find the thief as well. And that he was trying to help me. Damn right he’s gonna help me. I start telling people around and they gather. Within quick seconds, he makes an escape again. And this time, an entire troop of people run behind him. And me. After going around for about 2- 3 blocks, he gets caught and he’s trying to tell me- He was only helping me. How could I believe him ? If he was trying to help me, why did he run in first place when he did not even know that I was gonna run behind him. And then people start questioning him and I look around – I am not in a good friendly neighborhood. And there are 50 people surrounding me. All trying to jump on him and I cannot breath. I feel blank. I don’t know how to react. Do I go back to my bus, I don’t even know if the bus is still there. I borrow a phone and make a call.
What was I thinking running like that?And then I see – policemen trying to beat him up. I tell them the entire thing again and they offer to take me and him to the station. They tell me to calm down. I get into jeep and I see a colleague of mine rushing towards me. He gets into jeep as well and we head straight to police station. As scared as I felt back there on the roads, I felt much more afraid to enter the station. The name of police station is S J PARK. I had bruises and my pair of jeans was torn and I was limping. They take me inside to meet the head of station – I start explaining .
But then , I see whole lot of my colleagues at the police station. My complaint is filed and I give all my details. It’s time I got to hospital. Two policemen take me in police jeep to Victoria Hospital. I am accompanied by two of my colleagues. I get first aid and a tetanus shot.
I know by now that my reaction to the theft was foolish. I did not get down from my bus to get the phone but because I got angry. Angry over many things. I felt like if I can catch this guy, I can get through anything. I hear stories about rape, stealing, robbery and when there’s nothing I can do about it, I feel helpless. People feel safe in Bangalore. But with so many horrible things happening around and not being able to do anything , you feel like you need to do something. And so I did what I could and I just didn’t want to quit running till my last breath. Sadly, it isn’t always the drama that holds life together. It’s the people around you. The trust-worthy people, the ones whom you might not know well, but good enough to actually advice you the right thing. I met once again such a bunch of good people today. My colleagues. Yes, I have my share of fights, office politics, love-hate relationships with them but at the end of day, they stood by me. They were with me , holding hands at police station when I was shaking and at the hospital. They all might not be there for me forever, but at that moment when I could have been hurt by some wrong people or been injured while jumping signals, they were there. I felt safe already. I couldn’t care less for the phone.
I reach home safe and sound. But even now, when I just think of that signal, that snatching of phone – its like a dream. A bad one. This has changed my perspective about life. I realise one must take responsibility for one’s things, for what one does and be aware of the surroundings. You must be aware of what is exactly happening around you. Treat your body like it has EYES. Be aware of everything that happens around you. You blink once and you may be hurt or lose something.
And some time later I get this call, “Hello Madam Sindhu Rao, This call is regarding your lost-phone. When are you going to pick it up as the police have found it.”
After what seemed like ages, I meet the Sub-Inspector of that station and he tells me that the guy I chased was a bad criminal (though he was not the one who snatched the mobile from me) and because of this incident, they found 10 more mobiles from him and that he will be sent to jail for six months! This thief along with one more ( who is yet to be caught, the one who actually snatched my phone) were both involved in this theft.
I suddenly felt happy. Strong. Courageous. I felt like I could take on anybody or anything in this universe again!
What I learnt? Some people steal little things, some steal your heart, some steal your phone. You get some, you lose some.