DRINKS DRANK DRUNKARDS

16th November2013

It was 6:00 in the evening. My mother and I were watching a Tamil movie “Onayum Attukuttiyum” on our Laptop. She felt disgusted while watching some scenes. She lost her interest and asked me to stop the movie. Meanwhile my father entered along with my brother. They seemed confused and restive.

“Connect the Laptop with the net and open your Facebook.” My brother forced.

“Why?”

“And Check Santhosh’s account if possible.”

“How to do? He’s not my friend on Facebook. I can search but I don’t know whether I can open his Timeline there.” I replied and hesitated a little.

“Do it fast man.” My father yelled.

“What happened? Did he elope with any girl?” mother asked him.

“Is it so anna?” I also joined my mom.

“Don’t ask me anything and quest him man.” He replied.

“What’s wrong with them?” I muttered and opened my Facebook. I typed his name and started searching. Many names appeared with numerous photos. My brother, father and mother were also sitting with me. I asked my brother to locate his face. My mother was staring at the screen with the mystified eyes.

“Click and open this.” My brother told.

“Is he anna?” I clicked on his name.

“What happened? Should I give him request?” I asked him casually.

He was gazing his profile picture and said.

“No need.”

“Then why are you doing like this? What’s wrong if I give him request? We know each other and we’re friends on Skype for two years.”

”Can we see his wall, status and something like that?” my brother asked me without even retorting to my question.

“I am not sure anna since we are not friends on Facebook. We can I think.”

I pressed the enter button on his Timeline it opened. I lost my patience and asked him again.

“What happened anna? Unless you speak out I can’t proceed further. What should I do with his wall now?” he dragged the Laptop from me and started scrolling down. They were written in English. He asked me to explain them. I stretched my hand to get the Laptop. While giving he said, “Santhosh is dead.”

“What?” my mother and me were startled and asked in unison.

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Santhosh Jerome, shortly known as Santhosh is the only son of his parents and doesn’t have siblings on his own. He studied in Perambur ITI along with my brother few years ago. He was one of my brother’s friends.  Their friendship continued even after coming out of the campus. My brother started his career as an A.C. (air condition) technician and Santhosh concentrated on computers, software installations, hardware etc. he’s the one who helped to buy the desktop for us. We used to contact each other through Skype now and then. Unfortunately, due to his busy schedule, he was unable to contact my brother and his friends for several months.

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I was reading some posts on his Timeline and most of them were written “RIP”

“When it has happened anna?”

“Week ago.” He replied.

“What were you doing till now?” I asked him surprisingly.

“What do you want us to do?” he asked me back, “He was not even picking up the call for the last two months when we called him. None of our ITI friends knows his death.” He said.

“How he died?” my mother asked.
“Accident.” My brother replied.

“What accident? Tell me clearly.” My mother stressed.

“Who knows? Just now we came to know and we don’t have his parents’ phone numbers also.”

“Feroze anna knows anything about this?” I asked him.

“No da, someone told him and he told me.” He said. Feroze is working with my brother and their mutual friend since their course started.

I kept searching the details about his death. Some of them were written “I miss you da,” “RIP” some of them were in small and some of them in capital, “Unbelievable,” “you’ve been good to us,” and many. Finally I found one post in which everything was in detail. I read word by word and explained to my brother and to my parents.

“On the night of 9^th November 2013, he has gone for watching movie in theatre along with two more guys.” I read and said, “They drank to the fullest by the time. After finishing the movie, they have decided to leave one of them at his home. All of them went by bike.”

“Two bikes?” my father asked.

“No. three on one.” I replied and proceeded.

“Around 2:00 in the midnight that is on 10-11-2013 the bike was crossing Kodambakkam. The rider was not in control.”

They were eagerly waiting for me to say further for they were still unable to believe his death.

“A tipper lorry was coming on the opposite direction. He went and hit.”

My brother pouted, but I didn’t want to pause and continued.

“Two of them are spot dead and the other one was perilously injured.”

“Is he dead on the spot?”  My mother asked.

“Hmmm. His head has gone under the lorry’s wheel. And the person whom they wanted to leave at his home was also dead on the spot.”

“Cops found their bodies and informed their parents. I finished reading and said, “Finally everything has got over.”

They sadly went and left me with the Laptop. But, I didn’t want to close the page and wanted to know the last post of this 22 years old dead lad. He uploaded a photo I found. The caption was given “In front of some theatre” (I forgot the name of the Theatre.)

I shut down the Laptop at last.

My brother and Feroze brother went to his house after few days. His parents were left alone. His mother was shedding tears.

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Today November 10 2014, his first death anniversary.

I’ve plenty to say to these inebriates like them. But they won’t make any sense even if i beseech them to stop drinking by falling at their feet.

One would say “I know my limit” after drinking and vomiting on the floor. Another one would say “This is my right” who doesn’t know that he doesn’t have the right to commit suicide. The third one would say “I drink because I am happy” after cockering the joys of other’s lives, the fourth person would say “I am sad” after tormenting people without mercy, the fifth drunkard would say “Weekly once,” the sixth hero would say “Life will be incomplete without this,” the seventh innocent would blame “This is only for my friends compulsion,” the eighth man would confess that he couldn’t come out of it, the ninth would say that he’s enhancing the economy of the nation and the tenth one would not have any reason to justify.

The one and only reason behind this is that they want to be controlled by the alcohol.

One year has already passed by. The death of him and his friends are truly painful to their surroundings and to us. Nonetheless, no inebriate is going to regret for drinking. Unfortunately, this drunk driving, accidents and the deaths will continue in the future also.

Let their souls rest in peace.