DUBAI- MANGALORE FLIGHT CRASH

It was May 22^nd, a Saturday and I had big plans for the day- a day out in Khalidya Mall with my girl friends. I had set the alarm for 9 in the morning. But sadly, it was not the alarm that woke me up.

I woke up hearing the noise from the TV. The news channel was on and the most devastating news was shown. An Air India Express flight from Dubai-Mangalore had crashed near the Mangalorean Airport. The crash killed 158 people leaving 6 survivors. There were 4 infants and a dozen or so kids on board. The news was so shocking that I called my friends to know if anyone they knew were on board. I was invited into a sad reality that my friend Soujanya’s aunt and uncle were on board. Thought they were not sure whether they were alive or not at that time, now they know. MY father’s colleague, Mr. Noushad and his family were on board too. Through TV, we came to know that they had passed away too. Burnt in the fire, the news reporter said. There was one more man from my dad’s office that died in that flight crash, a young man of about 28 who was going to India to get married. His bride was waiting for him there. For the rest of the day and the next, all the TV channels reported news about the crash. It was the most devastating crash in a decade in India. Many whys and whose and wheres and whats remained in everyone’s mind as they painfully watched the news. I don’t want to go into any details about the crash as the point of this blog is not that.

That night I went to bed thinking, how many dreams had died down in that small moment of disaster. There might be a girl in the plane who just finished her 10^th and is eagerly waiting to go to a new school in India. There might be a wife waiting to see her husband or vise versa. A child, waiting to see her dad. An infant with a hope of seeing her grandparents for the first time. A man, waiting to be with his bride. And air hostess, waiting to get back home from the long journeys.

Saying that I barely slept would be an understatement. It was horrible. How many dreams, hopes and aspirations. Didn’t god just take them all back in a minute.

That night, I prayed to god. Sincerely prayed. Thanked him for the roof above my head, for the family I have, for the food I eat, for the friends I have, for the love I share, for the love I get and most of all, for the protection I get from harm.

That night I slowly closed my eyes and drifted into an unconscious state. I slept…knowing that some day, I would have to say good bye to this life too.

THIS IS HOW THE PLANE CRASHED. REPORTERS SAY THE PILOT IS TO BE BLAMED.

A SIGHT THAT HAUNTS ME...A COP CARRYING THE DEAD BODY OF A SMALL CHILD FROM THE PLANE CRASH.

AFTER THE PLANE CRASH....DEVASTATED...

PEOPLE DID ALL THEY COULD....BUT TO NO VAIL....

ET TU BRUTE!

When i was in OOEHS, we had to do a project on the literature drama chapter- Julius Caesar. Me being lazy as usual, i couldnt put up myself to write a 100 page report on his part. and the laziness resulted in me getting a barely 7 on 10 and the invention of a poem i actually liked! so this is one of my collected pieces. =D.

A man in flesh and bones
Was Brutus, Marcus Brutus
He treasured his king, but kingdom more
And so, our Caesar, he slaughtered

Caesar was ambitious, he held
And why should any rebuff him?
For Brutus, Marcus Brutus,
Was an honorable man!

So if you enquire “oh why, Brutus? ”
Know it now, for you should.
Not that he loved Caesar less
But that he loved Rome more

Now Brutus, this honorable man
If phases were to re-wind
Would indeed desire a better route
For flaws, he surely had

Caesar’s angel, he was
And Caesar loved him so
His last words were “et tu brute! ”
Oh how intensely Caesar loved him!

Was what Brutus did precise?
Many, oh! Many shall ask
This an act of a valiant hero
Or one of a ghastly villain?

Caesar once did utter
That cowards die before death
But the valiant die, but once
And didn’t Brutus die, once ‘nd more?

For Caesar loved him, oh Caesar did
And still his dagger swept his flesh
Caesar, he slayed, not as a person
But as what he may in the throne.

After assaulting our darling Caesar,
To Antony, he says, his spirit in pity
For he murder Caesar
‘cos he loved Rome more

Oh! I saw, Caesar’s heart twinge
When stab, did Brutus in facade
Making every philosopher deem
“Would Caesar die if not for Brutus? ”

‘Cos love Brutus, Caesar did
And he, an honorable man
The most intricate in the country of Rome
Doth no wrong, without a reason

If I could, I would do Brutus wrong
But how wrong? For wasn’t Caesar ambitious?
He loved Rome, but a haughty man
Who saw, he not ‘come a dictator?

And Brutus, oh! What a man!
Killed himself, a day
For guilt, the prickle, prickled him
Antony exclaim “He the noblest Roman of all”

So I do Brutus wrong and Caesar wrong
For both hath enticing love for Rome
But sad, they lacked clear notions
For Rome, he loved them both

JUNE 17TH,2009

- Sania Harris