Friday, August 12, 2016

When a sinking boy was saved from a deep tar pit....

Its a memory of my childhood...I was about 8 - 9..
There were these 10-12 feet tar pits near my house...
The public works department (PWD) kept tar reserves in 3 big wells for road repair....
Just before the use, they would heat the required amount in tin drums and use it...
The hard tar is solid.....ignorant of its dangers we, as village kids would play on them...
One August afternoon they had added tankers of new tar.....
It was a hot day and the tar was sticky.......recipe for disaster..

Some of the village boys were playing there...oblivious of the danger, one of the boy jumped into it....
Before he could realize, he started sinking in... 
The more he tried to escape, the more he was drawn in.......

He cried and shouted for help.....the desperate cry reverberated across the village...people ran to the site.......I along with my mother as well...........
By the time, we reached there the boy was sunken up to his chest..
What a bone-chilling picture it was..
Mother of the boy had fainted...
It was a small town...no trained rescue staff were available..
People took the responsibility to save him...
Everybody donated their personal petrol, kerosene stocks.....
After dumping the mineral oils around him, as strong wooden pole was used as a lever to pull him out..
Only his ears and face was above tar by then......
Chances of survival were dim...
By collective prayers and efforts of some resilient people, he could be brought back from a sure death..
All ended in a good note...
All the kid got a lesson.........unity and compassion won...

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