AUSTRALIA - POLICE HANDLES A MAJOR ACCIDENT CAUSING NO HARDSHIP

Sunil and Deepa visited us yesterday. We were meeting each other after a very long time. Sunil is from our native place. His father ran a Tea Shop across the road in front of our house. The family had difficult days as the income was not enough to sustain a family of four. Sreekant was the elder brother. Their mother was a very practical woman. She encouraged the two boys to go for education as much as they could. Even in those days education was a costly affair. She had supplemented the family income through lending money her husband made from the Tea Shop. Banks and money lending institutions had not reached the village at that period in history. The rate of interest was high. But the poor people who had no access to credit facilities, found the arrangement handy. They never had to run to organizations afar to meet their immediate requirements.

It was a surprise to the villagers when Srikant secured admission in an Engineering College. More surprises were in store. As he completed his course he found a job easily through campus placement. The family bond was strong. Srikant took the responsibility of looking after Sunil’s education. Sunil was a brilliant student. It was no surprise to his teachers when Sunil passed his Chartered Accountancy - C.A - examination with a high rank. Soon after the results were published an investment firm in Singapore offered a placement to Sunil. It was readily accepted.

The brothers had married. In course of time both of them had two children each. Srikant was employed in Dubai. After a few years in Singapore, Sunil with his wife Deepa and children Arvind and   Parvathy migrated to Australia. The placement in Australia was far better than the one he had in Singapore. It was a pleasant surprise when Australia granted them citizenship. The first thing Sunil did after settling down was to look for an opportunity for his brother in Australia. Fortunately he could locate a position. Srikant and his family are Australian citizens today. 

Sunil and Deepa were discussing life in their adopted country. They were happy they had migrated to Australia. It was pretty tough in the initial days. Soon they could merge with the stream of life there. Their children have wonderful opportunities they never had in their childhood.

We were horrified when Sunil narrated an accident he had been involved in. Sunil had a Honda Jazz hatchback. He was waiting at a traffic signal to move from a highway to a parallel road. Just as he began to proceed when the signal turned green an SUV charged in at a high speed violating the red signal. The SUV crashed against the door of the driver.  The Honda Jazz was a total wreck. Sunil still does not know how he had survived the accident. He suffered no injuries. However the lone passenger he had with him in the front seat suffered an injury. He was wounded by the metal part of the seat belt.

The manner in which the Police had handled the situation was exemplary. They had cordoned off the two vehicles. They were courteous. They did not use any kind of abusive language. They asked Sunil whether he was alright. They served coffee to calm their nerves. Sunil and his friend were moved to a hospital at once. They were allowed to go home after the doctors had done a thorough check up. Sunil’s friend was given medical attention and treatment. The SUV was driven by a young driver who was obviously inebriated. The accident had a sobering effect on him. He was in shock that necessitated the attention of the Psychiatrist.

Sunil never forgets the nightmare. He emphatically states that it is God’s will that had kept him alive.