It was Ravi’s first job then, about 25 years ago. He was young and smart and had courage to take risks. One fine morning he was riding his scooter, a Vespa, from his home to work. He was just entering the last round-about, just a couple of meters from his office. He was in a big hurry and did not follow the traffic rules to enter the circle and come out of it.
He was only half way in the circle, when a FIAT car hit him from behind. He could not escape because of the private office bus that stopped his way. He was tossed a few meters up in the air and he fell on the footpath at the end of the road. He was unconscious for a few minutes.
On seeing this incident, and in his pursuit to protect the poor scooter rider, the policeman grabbed the car driver and the bus driver and got them near Ravi. Ravi was awakened when people sprinkled water on his face and shook him. Ravi opened his eyes to find the car driver scared and shaky.
The car driver stood in front of him with his hands folded. Policeman’s first sentence was, “Are you ok? We have the car driver and the bus driver with us here; please let us know whose fault was it.”
Ravi knew deep inside him that it was nobody’s fault but his. He was the one who was in a hurry and he was the one who had not followed the rules of entering the circle. So, Ravi replied, “It is Ok, let them go. I will manage all by myself.” The policeman asked, “Are you sure?” Ravi replied, “Yes.” The policeman let both of them go. The car driver felt at ease and disappeared from the incident spot without any delay, and so did the bus driver.
By now, Ravi wanted to get up and get back on his scooter to reach office. When he tried to get up, Ravi could not. He asked for help from the people who had gathered around him.
A couple of them helped him to get up, but he was not able to sit on his scooter. People suggested that he must get the X-Ray done from the nearby hospital.
In a few months, he was back to his schedule. But he wondered, if that accident occurred because of his mistake or because it was destined to happen.
Did he make the right choice by letting the car driver and the bus driver go? He could have easily stopped them and could have settled for a few thousands. This would have helped him a lot and this would have made him sound smarter. Was his choice right? What is your opinion?
