Hectic and tiring 31st March can be, but
dangerous? Never thought of that. Well this post is especially for those
working women who are forced to sit up late on this very important date which marks the end of the financial year in almost all offices and establishments, whether it be public or private.
As usual on the 31st
of March ....………hmm, sorry don’t remember the exact year, Sitara who is a
gazetted officer, left home early for office. Before leaving she informed her
mother that she would be late. This was a routine year –in-year out exercise since she
took up this job. Her daughter’s auto driver was assigned the job of bringing
her home at night. Though she had the option of staying back at office or
spending the night at a colleague’s place, Sitara preferred returning home
since her daughter was very small and alone with her grand mother. Her husband was
away far north.
The day was as usual a very
hectic and tense one and being Office- In- Charge meant that Sitara had to wait up
till the year –end work was accomplished.
Finally it was well past midnight by the time she could leave for home. Her
home was around 20 kms from her office. She had barely covered 5 kms when the auto driver informed her that 4
people were following them on motorbikes. Sitara asked him to pick
up speed which he did. But, the men were not ready to give up. Both the driver
and Sitara were at their wit’s end. Should they enter a nearby lane? Should
they seek help from a nearby house? To add to their woes Sitara’s mobile battery
too let her down.
The bikes closed in. Suddenly Sitara, who I must say
is one-up when it comes to presence of mind, got an idea. She pretended to call
in the police patrol van on her mobile. She asked the auto driver for the vehicle
nos. of the bikes that were following them and ‘relayed’ the same to the
‘police officers,’ loud and clear so that the men on the bikes could hear her.
As luck would have it, the bikes
suddenly took a U- turn and sped away. Finally she reached home safe and sound,
but the incident left her shaken. Her
mother came to know of the incident only the next morning. That was the last
time she travelled all alone at night.
When I think of this incident now,
I wish her mobile batteries were fully charged and that she had Smart Suraksha
with her . The Smart Suraksha App is an Android Application that aims at making women feel
safe. This App, at the press of a single button, could have sent her message of help to five pre-chosen contacts from her
contact list. It would have also sent across her location. However, I've now
decided to pester her to get the Smart Suraksha App immediately so that the
coming March can see her more confident to take on the challenge of travelling
at the odd hour.
Insight :
This is not a piece of fiction
but a true story. The name of the character has been changed to protect her
identity.
I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com
in association
with Smart
Suraksha App.
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