Saturday, June 2, 2012

Dog and the bones


N
ew Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani express had just been derailed near Allahabad and it was tough to get an estimate on the number of casualties. This came as a shocker to the government as Rajdhani is considered as an elitist train and this was bound to create a lot of noise in the coming days. The government was already under scanner for rising inflation and lately for the surge in fuel prices. The high command in Delhi though thought it fit to keep silent and let the fizz die away. There were some tough questions that the Railways had to answer and media would make sure that they get their piece of the pie.


However right now it was time to speed up rescue operations. As the accident had happened in the middle of the night it was difficult to mobilize the rescue teams immediately. Railways was just like any other government agency and the staff liked to rest in the middle of the night rather than running around and saving lives. The first ones to reach the accident spot were the local villagers who tried their best to get the passengers out of the rummage.

A few local goons and mischief makers had made sure that they don’t let go off the opportunity and attacked the train like an angry snake with the full force of their venom. They had thought of looting the rich passengers but were cheated because of the amount of rubble. It was an accident that was unlikely seen and around four bogies had capsized over each other. There were very few survivors and those who were left were also gravely injured and looked as if they would give away any moment. It was a disturbing sight and soon a riot had broken out between the goons and the villagers. There was no room for sympathy when it came to the interiors of this great country. It was a paradise for some and was worse than hell for the others.

Torn between anguish and disappointment Railways had sought the help of the Army who responded very swiftly. In a matter of hours the full area was sanitized and the situation was taken under control. But the pride of the nation had been hurt and the loss of life and property could never be compensated.
It was not the time to read verses from holy books and cry for the ones who had been killed in this historic disaster. It was more than an accident and was tantamount to mass murder. Government needed to make a strong statement and the media briefing was done by the home ministry the following evening. Citizens were assured that the perpetrators would be brought to justice and the guilty would be punished. The deceased and the injured were also going to be compensated by the government and a special task force was going to be deployed to get to the bottom of the matter.

Swami was amongst the lucky survivors of the mishap and was invited over by a dozen news channels to narrate his account of the sensational accident. He made sure he told all the details passionately and in return got the required benefit from the news media in terms of invites and celebrity status. Opposition also did its best not to let go off the incident and sent a rally of its top leaders to the mishap site as if it was a heritage site. It was time to have a gala time in both the houses of parliament and hurl accuses at each other.

The critical situation was going at the normal pace and was generating much flak from the media circles and opinion makers. But little did anyone know that this time it was going to be a different ball game for the bureaucracy and the revered politicians. A letter was found circulating on the social media websites that claimed that the government knew of the accident from beforehand and that the derailment was caused intentionally. It further explained that the government was shielding the local goons who formed a major part of the vote bank and were state loyalists. Surprisingly it also blamed some of the leaders from the opposition to have an interest in the loot money and claimed that some of the miscreants were party workers comprising of both the top parties.

The inflammatory tone used in the letter clearly showed that the writer was deeply hurt by these developments and was making sure that the correct information reaches out to the masses. It shook the sleeping politicians and this stung them in the back as an arrow. Ministry of telecommunications soon got hold of this issue and tried tracking the whistleblower. After a few weeks the police claimed that the letter writer was actually a Maoist who had sent across the letter to spread panic and disturbance in the nation. The opposition supported the police findings and there was almost no uproar over the letter in any of the media channels. Though a few muffled voices did try to highlight the fact that how such important revelations could be not investigated none of it was taken up by the authorities. With dying media attention and the ongoing maverick local cricket tournament this issue was put on a backburner and more important issues of corruption in the sports and the upcoming Olympics representation took up front seat.

The indecisive and educated Indian population very conveniently forgot about the letter and focused on whatever was being served by the media. After all it was highly unlikely they would accept the versions of a lone person who claimed such disturbing information and threatened the very fabric of the political machinery. It was plain stupid on the part of the whistleblower to give out such information and some of the people believed he should have left either the government or the opposition out of the accusations if he wanted some action to be taken.

Few weeks later a high level meeting was organized by the government which was attended by key members of the opposition. The whistleblower stood outside the venue scanning the cars. After strolling around for half an hour he took a last look on the magnificent hotel and smiled. After turning back he rammed into a stray dog that started barking on him. After throwing a few stones he gave up as it was of no use and he could not fight the dog in its own territory.  Before the dog could bring upon his associates the man was gone around the bend.



This post is part of the contest Ten words to a Story(or Poem).. on WriteUpCafe.com

18 comments:

  1. This is one scary post yaar, because there isn't much fiction in what you've written. These are numbing facts which unfold in front of our eyes repeatedly. Glad you're bringing these things up in your blog.

    Hope you can someday come up with solutions for the current mess in your later posts, i.e. how to muzzle the dog?

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    1. Actually i have written facts but its still fiction remember ;)
      Anyways i have concentrated more on the dogs and what they can do save their territory. And the solution again can be found somewhere in the story but honestly speaking i dont really like preaching solutions for such issues as there are loads of blog who are better off in it. :)

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  2. Enjoyed your topic and the fact that you still address social issues while entertaining with your writing. The style had me thinking you were covering an actual story. Best of luck in the competition!

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    1. Thanks a lot Helen. Yeah it took me some time to formulate the whole story but it was fun. All the best to you too :)

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  3. Please include the widget follow by e mail

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    1. Done. I had forgot to do that. Thanks for reminding.

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  4. and yes all the best for the contest !!

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  5. a fiction.. still it feels so real.. a very good post..

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  6. Great mix of Backdrop with socially relevant issues and the working of the system.
    You managed to unfold events with ease, even in a complicated situation. Kudos!

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    1. Words like Kudos really make me feel good. Thanks :)

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  7. great imagination :) all the best
    liked the way u ended the post specially with attractive animated dog picture ooohhh scary

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    1. Yeah the pic looks just fine. Thanks for the complements.:)

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  8. Great write-up, especially on all the events that usually takes place in our country. Though this is a fiction, you have made them appear like true events.
    Good-luck for the contest :)

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