PERILOUS RIDE

News papers report that 4000 deaths occur in Kerala every year due to accidents on the roads. Two wheelers are involved in a major chunk of the unfortunate deaths. It is an alarming situation. The addition of 4000 families to rudderless destitution each year is a man made disaster due to callous indifference on the part of the authorities and at times of the victims themselves.

It was in the year 1978  Rev P V John of the CSI Church at Kattanam had set off on his brand new scooter from his residence on an evening to visit a member of his parish. The life of a priest is full of sacrifices. The priests struggled for existence in that era. While those who practiced celibacy had only themselves to look after those who had married and had families had a torrid time. Rev P V John did have a family. Sosamma, his wife was a teacher in a school. They had five children, three boys and two girls. It was a happy family where they laughed together always despite the severity of shortages they were in most of the time. They had entrusted themselves to the Lord and the good Lord always had ensured that they were never left in the lurch.

P V John who had dedicated himself to become a priest and serve the Lord was a catechist at the time of his marriage with Sosamma who had been a teacher. When it was time to anoint P V John as a Priest,
Bishop M M John had set the condition that priesthood would be granted to P V John if only Sosamma had resigned from her job. Sosamma was in a dilemma. She went and sought opinion from her father C I Abraham who had been a Head Master of a Lower Primary School. The saintly man gave a sane advice. As her husband had dedicated himself to become a priest and serve the Lord, her job should not come in the way of  her husband’s ideals.   She had to support him and not block him.  Sosamma gave up her job.
P V John became Rev. P V John.

Ten years passed. Rev P V John and Sosamma had a happy family life. Sosamma was busy with her role as the wife of the Priest at Parishes where Rev P V John was posted. She was content to raise the children who had arrived intermittently. Bishop M M John who had visited the family on a visit to the Parish where
Rev.P V John was posted was appalled by the living conditions of the family. The Bishop regretted his insistence that Sosamma gave up her job to anoint priesthood on P V John. He initiated steps to reappoint Sosamma as a teacher. With Sosamma back at her job, the struggle for survival had eased up.

Rev P V John could not reach his destination. Though he owned the brand new chetak that he had purchased a few months earlier after several years in the waiting list, he was still learning the nuances of riding a scooter.  He tried to overtake a hand cart carrying palm leaves as he rode on. Unfortunately the rope that had secured the palm leaves to the hand cart was jutting out. The rear view mirror of the scooter was entangled with the rope. There were marks of the wheels on the road when Rev PV John had applied the brakes. He could not stop the vehicle. He was thrown off the scooter with the head banging on the road. It was a grievous head injury. He was bleeding profusely. Though he was rushed to the adjacent Hospital at Kattanam the doctors advised immediate transfer to the Medical  College Hospital at Trivandrum as they were not equipped to deal with the emergency.

Dr. Sambasivan at the Medical College Hospital attended on the patient. The famous neuro surgeon could not do much as the fight for survival was a lost cause from the very beginning. There were complications.
Rev P V John succumbed to the injuries after a few days in the ICU.

Dr. Sambasivan enquired why Rev P V John was not wearing a Helmet when he rode the scooter. Helmets were optional at that time. He showed us a broken Helmet. He said that it was worn by a medical student when he had fallen off  his scooter. Though the Helmet was broken , the medical student survived the accident with no major injuries. He advised us to start a campaign encouraging people to wear helmets when they ride two wheelers. His parting advice was that Helmets saved precious lives.

A few days after the death of Rev PV John, the parcel that contained a Helmet was delivered at his house. It was a gift from a relative working abroad. He had sent the gift on learning that Rev P V John had purchased a scooter. Rev P V John did not buy another Helmet  as he knew that it was on its way.

Rev P V John was a very good man. He was always prepared to help those in need. He never revealed to others even when he was in dire straits. His untimely death was a jolt to the family. The children lost their guide. Though Sosamma was employed she found it very difficult to balance the family budget. The family came through the thorny phase with their steadfast faith in the Lord. Though the children are all doing well at the moment, it is obvious that they would have all done still better if Rev P V John had been alive.

There was stiff opposition when Helmet was made mandatory in Kerala. Though people have now relented in their objections we  find a large number of people riding two wheelers without Helmets across Kerala. They do not mind paying fines for not wearing Helmets. I have often wondered whether they do not value their lives or whether they do not think at all what would happen to their families in case something unfortunate happened to them. It happened to Rev. P V John. His family suffered. It has happened to many. Who knows who is in the firing line next?