When angels depart..

A dull, heavy thud!

Momentary confusion, excruciating pain!

A muffled moan!

What followed in the next three days would read like a tailor-made Kollywood script, so much so that I still find it difficult to believe it happened in my life.

The year was 1993. We had just moved to Chennai and were newcomers in the apartment complex.

It was close to midnight. My wife and two daughters were asleep in the bedroom. I was watching some exhibition cricket match happening at Lords on television. Nothing great and as I sat with both legs up on my lightweight aluminium chair, slowly sleep enveloped me, as I slid to one side — Thud! Down I went! Couldn’t for a moment realise what had happened but I was in great pain. I had fallen on my right shoulder and when I tried to pull myself up with a grimace, realised that I could not move my right arm. Very gingerly, I managed to get my left hand under my right, and got up. Walked across the bedroom, woke up my wife and informed her what had happened. She started applying Iodex on my shoulder and I cried out in pain. Now the pain was increasing by the minute.

My wife talked to a lady doctor in our complex and explained to her the situation. The doctor on hearing the narration, said it must be a dislocation or a fracture and that we should go to one of the two closest 24- hour hospitals. There was a problem. It was around 1 AM and though we had a car, my wife couldn’t drive and it was the age when UBERs and OLAs were not even conceived.

My wife knocked at our next-door neighbours’ door. Something about them. Mr. Murugesan was a banker and his wife a home-maker and they had two daughters just like us. We had a passing acquaintance with them. Nice, helpful people but never extremely social or back-slapping type. Quite reserved in their interactions.

Immediately Mr. Murugesan came over, had a look at me and said we should go to Santosh Hospital in Besant Nagar. He took out his scooter and went out searching for an autorickshaw. Soon the auto rickshaw arrived. My wife carrying our six-month old daughter helped me into the auto rickshaw. Our older daughter aged five was left with Mrs. Murugesan. As the autorickshaw made its way in the dark lonely lanes of Chennai, Mr.Murugesan followed us on his scooter.

Once in the hospital, Mr. Murugesan quickly explained the matter to the doctors on duty who took me for an x-ray, confirmed it was a dislocation only and that a ‘ reduction’ had to be done under General anaesthesia. All this was done successfully in around three hours ( I learnt later) and only after the procedure was complete, Mr. Murugesan left for home. By next day noon, I was back home with a heavy plaster and a groggy feel.

I had not even personally thanked my neighbour, when I learnt that the following day Mr. Murugesan ha been admitted to hospital for a heart surgery. What? I was shocked, just two nights ago he had taken so much pain for me and I wanted to meet him today to express my gratitude. No worry, said my wife- His surgery was successful. Imagine our shock, when later that night came the news that Mr. Murugesan has passed away all of a sudden. I went numb hearing this news.

Next morning, my arm in plaster, I went to pay my respects to this silent neighbour who had descended like an angel to help us during an emergency and had now departed to another world. Learnt later that he his heart problem was detected earlier and on the day of my accident, he had been on leave for his surgery in two days time. Imagine such a person riding his scooter in the middle of the night to help out a neighbour ….. and that was the last time he took out his scooter.

Took time for me to get over this. Then both families moved to different cities but the shining angel on that dark October night will forever remain in my memories.