Tragic news of a lady succumbing to an accidental crash into the glass door of a Bank in Perumbavoor, Kerala. She had rushed out in a hurry and collided with the glass door, sustaining multiple injuries on her abdomen. A very gruesome and unexpected death, which could have been averted. A better and stronger tempered glass for instance. Or even just a colorful sticker on the glass door would have made the public aware that this is not an open way and that there is a transparent barrier between.
This incident brings to mind an incident from my school days, 9th standard, I think. Bangalore Military School had glass window panes for the class rooms. It so happened that a class mate broke a windowpane by accident at the end of the preparatory class held in the afternoon, (where we study or complete our home work by ourselves, no teachers with stern eyes watching over us). Most of the students had left and there were only a few who witnessed this mishap. The culprit was warned by the Duty Master and duly attended to for the wound in his elbow.
The next morning, a class mate called all of us and announced in a loud voice that he ‘was about to perform a Magic trick’. Look, he said, this window has glass panes but I am going to thrust my hand through this glass. Watch carefully, he shouted and punched hard into the window with a loud Karate yell, breaking the glass (which had been repaired the previous evening itself, unknown to us) and injuring his knuckles.
He was not let off easily and taken before the Principal, who after severe verbal chastisement turned him over to the Dormitory Leader to be subject to physical punishment we called “ragada”, usually on the play grounds at noon, frog jump, crawl, running etc. in the hot sun
Incidentally this friend of mine is a retired defense officer.
Sajy Cherian is a retired banker and an amateur writer. He reads a lot, watches a lot of old English movies and also has a basic knowledge of French having successfully completed a certificate course from CUSAT.
THE BREW 