Pune Mayhem—The Killer Bus!

People die in natural disasters, bomb blasts, madmen firings, accidents of all kinds including the weirdest ones, road rages and so on. They keep on dying almost on a daily routine. Yet, there is no end to the puzzle of ‘how they are going to die next’. What happened in Pune, a cultured, peaceful and lively city of Maharashtra, today is another example in continuing with that ominous puzzle.

One normal driver reported for duty in the morning at the state transport corporation terminus in Pune and was scheduled for a trip. Everything progressing normally, apparently with no hidden surprises. And suddenly…mayhem!

The driver took hold of the empty bus and went berserk. He drove the bus into the street…on the wrong side. He went on hitting, crushing and maiming whatever came on the way…cars and other vehicles, auto-rickshaws, helpless pedestrians and so on. He seemed to be in spell or stupor and was absolutely unmindful of what was happening as a result of his mad act.

In the process he killed 9 people, injured about 30 some of them grievously and damaged about 40 vehicles. The police chased him for one hour through the city and finally arrested him. He was believed to be suffering from an attack of schizophrenia, but his mental imbalance was still not confirmed. Then, why he did what he did?

One overpowering reason could be modern-day stress from which some desperately seek releases. And, at time they opt for the wildest outlets. Two most stressed communities in our bursting country could easily be the police constables and the public bus drivers. These people never get enough rest and always get the worst pay packets with big families to support and wretched environs to live in. During festivals when they are supposed to enjoy togetherness with their families they get overburdened with duty 24 into 7. This modern-day stress factor could be a dormant volcano ready to erupt anytime.

And so, we never know what is going to happen and when and where. Even getting ready for any surprise we get surprised at the novelty of the surprise. Unfortunately in all such horrid situations people die and die and die… What solution and what help?

Comments

Mitali: The Trauma of Losing a Sibling

Maybe I lied to her when I used to reassure her that she was going to be alright and was going to resume her life in some measure of normalcy in the future years; maybe all my gestures/expressions were false when I used to run my fingers across her forehead or embrace her on occasions when she was able to move around a bit; and maybe all my exhibitions of love care and responsibility were exposed as superficial when I failed to turn up in Delhi where she along with my mother were treated during September-October, 2022 (my mother Urmila Chakravarty was also diagnosed with dental cancer the same month the same year as she was) and when all the members of my parental family and the in-laws converged. Since that fateful day in August, 2022 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer to that disastrous day of March 6, 2025—the day my younger blood sister Mitali (Mainu) Chakravarty Sarma (November 2, 1963—March 6, 2025) passed away in the wee hours in a hospital in Guwahati after giving a bra...

Release of Book 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories'!

The fourth collection of stories titled 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories' by Chinmay Chakravarty has been released on Amazon KDP just now! This collection, short stories in a lighter vein plus with mild satire like the previous collections, has been published in both the E-book and Paperback formats. The links are given below: International: Click Here ! India: Click Here ! Other collections of short stories by the same author: The Cheerless Chauffeur and Other Tales(2021)--Notion Press. Funny and Fishy Tales(2022)--KDP. The Weirdos(2022)--Ukiyoto Publishing. All books of the author are available on Goodreads, apart from Amazon and other outlets! Have a look!

Kolkata: Cancel the Commerce of the Durga Puja Carnival!

Yes! We ask why shouldn't the pure Commerce show of the Durga Puja Carnival in Kolkata be canceled in view of the worsening medical crisis? For how long this cruel irony of continuing the worship of the Mother Goddess and continuing to torture/kill the Mothers in human forms going to continue? Greed, limitless greed of humans! Dear God! This time Goddess Durga came in a cradle which in itself implies ominous times, and further, the tithis from Mahasaptami onward came mixed in such a way that you get three days of worship, technically. Yet, the greedy and selfie-social-media-crazy crowds of 'devotees' were still not satiated, descending on the Puja pandals in uncontrollable hordes for as long as seven days, and to pander to their greed and to have the maximum of business, most of the Puja organizers disregarded the tithi break-up completely and have been celebrating Bijoya Dashami or the Dussehra well into Ekadashi, the eleventh day! They expect the hordes to descend tonigh...