Just when you start believing everything around is so beautiful, you are reminded by some way or the other that life is not all that flowery.

The day wasn’t very easy.  I had already faced my share of tensions and sadness. In spite of everything, I was happy and content just because I am with my family.

Dad asked me to prepare tea while he was almost ready to go to his office, after lunch. There I was in the kitchen, trying my best to prepare the best tea for my daddy by adding everything possible- ginger, saunf, elaichi and laung. It took me longer than the usual time to prepare it for I had to make sure that he gets the flavor of all the ingredients.

I offered him tea and left the room for few minutes. On returning in the room, I excitedly asked, “how was the tea, daddy?” and he was busy on his phone so he dint respond. Just then mom told me dad hadn’t tasted it because some employee was stuck in the Bombay Secretariat fire. I dint have any clue about the fire till then! We were all clinged to the news channel.  There were two employees (of the company dad works in) stuck in the fire on 6^th floor, one a civil engineer of our unit and another a colleague of some other unit. The fire was caught on 4^th floor and it was fast approaching the 6^th floor. Many people got unconscious because of the smoke. Just then, one of the employees who was stuck rang my dad and said,” Sir dua ki jiye ham yahan se bach ke nikal jayein”(Sir, pray that we get out of here alive)! All of us were praying to God every moment.

The way the building was being destroyed in fire, all of us were scared to the nerves.  It was dreadful.  I heard dad say, “I had to attend this meeting, I cancelled my program at the last moment”. I wanted to move from my place and go hug daddy as tightly as I could but I couldn’t move and I just thanked God, praying for the employees stuck more intensely now!

I had heard and watched such news before too but never before someone I knew was stuck inside. This time I knew both the employees, I had met them and talked to them too! It felt as if my brain started revising all the moments I had shared with them. All this while, my dad tried calling them but they weren’t answering the call.  He could connect to the number but no one was answering. We assumed they might have got unconscious. We got more scared. I started criticizing the infrastructure because I could see no fire escape ladder in the building and the news channel showed people standing on the windows asking for help. If only there were fire escape stairs, people could have been easily saved!

I kept saying “shit” with every scene I watched on the news and kept thinking of how uncertain life is! What would their families be feeling like! What will happen next! Who will inform us about the employees stuck!

Just then one of the employees CALLED! Dad answered the phone and he could hardy hear the voice. The voice on the other side wasn’t clear, the person was stumbling. All dad could hear was,  “Sir main bach gaya “(I have been saved). Dad said Thank God with tears in his eyes! He asked if the other employee had been saved too. He had been. But his legs might have got fractured because they had to jump down! But how did that matter. Their life was what mattered! He said they were the last ones who could be saved! If there was a delay of even a minute, they wouldn’t have made it, the people behind them couldn’t be rescued!

All of us had tears in our eyes thanking God every moment!

Since then I’ve been wondering we tend to take everything in life for granted. We leave things for the future to decide. We know what we are supposed to do but we act weirdly. We complain more than being thankful for all that we are blessed with. And trust me ALL of us do this.

Life can be so simple, so lovely if WE make it! We have to learn to forgive and let go. We have to stop complaining and start being thankful. We have to start living it before its too late! We have to be good to each other and enjoy every moment with each other. Never know what life has to offer us in the next moment, just try to live the present moment.