The somersault to apathy

20th February 2008, around 2200 hours -

We were on our way back from office in the designated cab for the day, cruising along the recently buffed up Old Mahabalipuram Road when a two wheeler crossed the road, cutting across our vehicle.

He managed to cross the cab alright, but another biker on an Enfield Bullet, who was on the left lane, hit him head on. I watched them somersault like ballet dancers in slow motion from the insulated environment of the cab. One of them didn't have his helmet strapped on. It flew across the road and landed in front of our cab. The cab dragged the helmet along with it for a while.

I was frozen in time. I could hear my colleagues urge the driver to move on, as it was already late. Also there was the risk that the bystanders would come to the wrong conclusion that the cab was the culprit.

As the cab moved on, the picture I had in mind, was that of me in either of the stricken bikers' positions. Not a single soul to care for whether they were dead or alive. The main aim was to escape from the site of the accident so that we could reach home fast. Shit. And I didn't do a thing.