KINDNESS OF A STRANGER

KINDNESS OF A STRANGER

My childhood began in my remote village, Bhatkhola. I was a pampered child and reasonably good at studies. In June 1980, when I was just 11 years old, I went to Bageshwar with my eldest sister, who was doing her graduation from PG College, Bageshwar. Bageshwar is a small town surrounded by hills, 75 kilometers from Almora and 30 kilometers from Kausani, the birthplace of the great nature poet Sumitra Nandan Pant. If you want to go to the Pindari glacier, you have to go through Bageshwar. This small town is situated on the banks of the Sarayu and Gomati rivers.

As my sister used to go to college, she would leave me with the neighboring children. We formed a group of six children and started playing all kinds of games every day. I found that I was the winner in most of the games and also observed that two children in the group did not like my winning streak. June is very hot in Bageshwar, and people, especially young ones, love to swim in the rivers Sarayu and Gomati. It is a common practice there to wash clothes on the riverbank and also swim across the river. Swimming in the river is always enjoyable. 

In my village, there are small tributaries (known as Gaarh in the local dialect). These gaarh do not have deep water, but the flow of water is very fast. I, along with my village folk, used to practice swimming in these gaarh, and I had no experience swimming in fast-moving, deep water rivers like Gomati and Sarayu, especially in June and July.

One day, all the children came to me and said we should go for a swim in the river Sarayu. I agreed. When we reached the Sarayu, we decided to swim across the river (almost 60 meters wide). When all shouted, "Let's remove our clothes and jump into the river!" all my friends started swimming in freestyle, and I started with my breaststroke. All my colleagues were ahead of me. When I reached the deep water, I started losing control and was unable to swim across the fast-moving water current. I felt like I was drowning and could not scream for help. The very first thought that came to my mind was that I would be no more. I started remembering all my loved ones - my father, mother, sisters, and brothers. All their faces were passing through my mind, and I thought they would miss me a lot, and my eldest sister would be blamed.

Suddenly, a young man, probably aged 20-22 years, jumped into the river and saved my life by pulling me up to the riverbank. He shouted at me and slapped me, saying, "Agar Tairana Nahi aata to Koodhe kyo? Agar Doob jaate to?" ("If you don't know swimming, why did you jump into the water? If you had drowned..."). For the first five minutes, I was terribly shaken. I had no control over my heartbeats, body, and mind. I could not believe I was still alive. I had no words to speak and could not even thank the man who saved my life.

After a few minutes, all the children who had come with me returned after crossing the river. When they came to know about the narrow escape, they all promised me that we would not force anybody to cross the river in the future, and I also requested that this incident should not be told to my sister. Till today, whenever I go to Bageshwar, I certainly visit that spot and recollect that incident and always search for the angel who saved my life. heartbeats, body, and mind. I could not believe I was still alive. I had no words to speak and could not even thank the man who saved my life.

After a few minutes, all the children who had come with me returned after crossing the river. When they came to know about the narrow escape, they all promised me that we would not force anybody to cross the river in the future, and I also requested that this incident should not be told to my sister. Till today, whenever I go to Bageshwar, I certainly visit that spot and recollect that incident and always search for the angel who saved my life. 

Rajesh Kumar