It was a dark, gloomy Tuesday morning. The sun had just popped out to spread its warm rays all around. We were queuing up for the Morning assembly and subsequent prayers in the lawn of our school. The lawn was abuzz with the muttering and murmuring of the uniformly dressed 'future of society'. A friend came rushing up to me with his face down. Something bad had happened. I presumed the expression on his face to be the usual one that creeps in onto our faces when we see that all the teachers have come to the school. We always keep a count of the teachers so as to see how much free time we would get for the day to roam about and play around. It didn't turn up to be as I presumed. Something worse had happened.
'Iqbal is no more', my friend mustered all his courage to voice these unfortunate words, 'We've lost him forever'. These words sent shivers down my spine and I was petrified. I tried to ask him the reason of the loss of an innocent, beautiful flower. I looked up above towards the heavens and closed my eyes. Many a fond memories of him flashed back before my eyes in a dramatic succession. Iqbal was our classmate last year and a dear friend. He had left the school owing to some personal reasons this session only. During the whole of the Morning assembly, my eyes wandered from one corner to another, begging and pleading someone to let me know the cause of this untimely death. The sad news had by now reached every ear in the lawn. 'Iqbal died due to an accident. It's on today's newspaper', I heard some boys talk. I rushed to the school library and hastily lay my hands on a daily. 'Two boys killed in a bike accident', read the headline. I quickly skimmed through the details of the news item, hoping against the hope. How I wished the news to be untrue! But alas! Wishes don't see the dawn of fulfilment so often.
The details of the news story took me to a larger aspect of what caused Iqbal's death. Iqbal and another biker died of an accident on the Boulevard Road around the Dal Lake. They were moving speedily when they crashed into each other. Blood spilled all around bringing about a tragic end to two more lives.
Bike accidents are a dime a dozen nowadays. Every now and then dailies are splashed with unfortunate and distressing reports about the bike accidents. The section of our society that's worst hit is the youth including minors (below 18) who do not even possess the driving licence. You'll see these motorcyclists attempting deadly, real-life stunts on narrow jam-packed roads, which otherwise require a proper track, professional skills and due supervision. The fast-flying bikers zoom past like lightening, zigzagging their ways through, injecting a sense of fear and disgust in the other drivers and pedestrians. Sometimes they fly close with hands stretched to grope whoever comes in between. They come like gusts of wind with loud honking, leaving the onlookers perplexed. All these showy acts, by and large, cease in a tragic-ending, leaving behind tearful tales of many Iqbals and many lessons to be learnt.
The need of the hour is to ponder over and act against such activities by the errant bikers. What is primarily required is mass awareness among the youth so as to make them aware of the dangers. Proper counselling and guidance needs to be imparted to the youth-on-bikes. Parents, schools, colleges and other social organisations have a pivotal role to play in this regard. Moreover, the concerned authorities should make it a point that laws aren't confined to the rule books alone but are implemented on ground. To curb a menace like this one, we all have to get together and make sure no more lives are lost and no other Iqbal meets such a tragic end. Rest in peace, Iqbal.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST