THE JUMP TO SUICIDE

On the front page of the Delhi daily, Hindustan Times (November 17, 1995), there is a story with a picture. It is a story of a dead person that offers a painful lesson to the living.

Sarika Hora, the 20-year-old niece of Mr. M.N. Arora from Delhi, was a third-year engineering student in Pune. In October 1995, she visited Delhi with her family to celebrate Diwali. On October 27, she boarded the Goa Express at Nizamuddin Railway Station to return to Pune and continue her studies.

At the railway station, her family bid her farewell. She was happily heading toward her destination with a fellow student. The train had an internal passageway between each pair of carriages. Between Gwalior and Jhansi, the eager girl got up to move from one coach to another. She reached the vestibule of the coach. According to regulations, there should have been a stepping plate between the two coaches, but for some reason, it was not there. She did not notice this. She attempted to step from one coach to the other, but she did not succeed. Her foot landed in the empty space between the coaches. Suddenly, she fell under the rapidly moving train, and within seconds, her body was torn to pieces.

This is more than just a train trip. In life’s bigger journey, there are often moments when we need a stepping stone to move from one stage to another. At those times, the first step is to pause and make sure there is a solid foothold to help us move forward. Trying to move ahead without such a support is like taking a reckless leap, instead of taking a step toward progress and success.

Is there anyone who will learn a lesson from this incident?