"Yes, yes Ma, I am leaving office in 5 min", I informed
"But Beta...", Mom disappointed
"Yes Ma, I know I shouldnt be staying so late. Dont worry, I will be fine. I am driving home and its hardly 5 km from our house. I will be fine!!" I reassured Ma.
It was not very often that I stayed in office till 11 pm, but that day we had deadlines to meet and I was responsible for my team.
My house was just 5 kms from home and Bangalore presumably was a very safe city for girls. So I wasnt bothered about getting a colleague along with me or actually bothering about anything w.r.t safety.
I started walking towards parking after the final goodbyes and checking all the deliverables were sent to the customers. The parking lot was uncomforatbly quite and motionless. There was no security guard or any human sign in that 200 mts of parking lot. I could see a few cars scattered here and there but nothing seemed to be normal. I pretended not to be scared, but I was!
I hurried up to my car and opened using my car keys. The noise it made echoed all over the place and startled me to the core. I quickly went inside the car and locked the car. I started the car and without a moment delay drove off from that graveyard.
On my way to the exit gate, I saw three huge built guys trying to sneak into a car. I was sure they were not the owner of the car, but I decided not to intervene. And I pretended to not see them and drove off. I was stopped at the security gate and asked for the identity card as a general routine checkup. I could have informed the security about the men in the parking lot, but I choose not to and I drove off.
On my way back, many things went through my mind. I was trying not to think about the parking lot and those men. But suddenly a white Xylo overtook me. That scared the hell out of me. The first thought which came in my mind was that it was by accident. So I just stopped for a second and before I thought of getting out of the car to fight with the driver or see if it was on purpose. I saw the same men I saw in parking lot coming out of the car. They have probably noticed a single women driving in the car and followed me through.
Here my quick thinking helped and I without thinking of the damage my car can have took a reverse and overtook their car. They did not expect me to do that, so they were very slow to react and I drove ahead. But they were determined to follow me. They honked, they flashed light and they drove as fast as they could. I had my phone with me, but I couldnt match up to their speed and also call somebody. For me, currently the only important thing was to escape. I was just 2 kms away from my house but that 2 kms seemed unending. I was driving,without using the brakes I was just driving!!
After they saw me driving at a speed of 100 km/hr they knew I am not going to be submissive to them, so they finally gave up. I reached home in full sweat, I recollected myself in the parking lot and then went up to face my parents. This incidence would have devastated them and they would have been in stress all their life if I had told them what happened, so I thought I would do that some other time when I can explain them better.
That night could have been the nightmare no girl would ever want to imagine. They could have looted me, raped me, they could have killed me. We hear scary stories everyday and I could have been the Nirbhaya of some story. But it scares the soul out of me even today when I think of the possibilities that could happen that night and when I heard about SMART SURAKSHA application few days back...I WISH I HAD SMART SURAKSHA WITH ME THAT DAY. While driving I could have messaged 5 friends and relatives of mine and also put those goons behind the bars with just one click.
Girls please download the application as I did and make sure you utilize technology not just for social networking sites but also for your own safety!
I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.
"But Beta...", Mom disappointed
"Yes Ma, I know I shouldnt be staying so late. Dont worry, I will be fine. I am driving home and its hardly 5 km from our house. I will be fine!!" I reassured Ma.
It was not very often that I stayed in office till 11 pm, but that day we had deadlines to meet and I was responsible for my team.
My house was just 5 kms from home and Bangalore presumably was a very safe city for girls. So I wasnt bothered about getting a colleague along with me or actually bothering about anything w.r.t safety.
I started walking towards parking after the final goodbyes and checking all the deliverables were sent to the customers. The parking lot was uncomforatbly quite and motionless. There was no security guard or any human sign in that 200 mts of parking lot. I could see a few cars scattered here and there but nothing seemed to be normal. I pretended not to be scared, but I was!
I hurried up to my car and opened using my car keys. The noise it made echoed all over the place and startled me to the core. I quickly went inside the car and locked the car. I started the car and without a moment delay drove off from that graveyard.
On my way to the exit gate, I saw three huge built guys trying to sneak into a car. I was sure they were not the owner of the car, but I decided not to intervene. And I pretended to not see them and drove off. I was stopped at the security gate and asked for the identity card as a general routine checkup. I could have informed the security about the men in the parking lot, but I choose not to and I drove off.
On my way back, many things went through my mind. I was trying not to think about the parking lot and those men. But suddenly a white Xylo overtook me. That scared the hell out of me. The first thought which came in my mind was that it was by accident. So I just stopped for a second and before I thought of getting out of the car to fight with the driver or see if it was on purpose. I saw the same men I saw in parking lot coming out of the car. They have probably noticed a single women driving in the car and followed me through.
Here my quick thinking helped and I without thinking of the damage my car can have took a reverse and overtook their car. They did not expect me to do that, so they were very slow to react and I drove ahead. But they were determined to follow me. They honked, they flashed light and they drove as fast as they could. I had my phone with me, but I couldnt match up to their speed and also call somebody. For me, currently the only important thing was to escape. I was just 2 kms away from my house but that 2 kms seemed unending. I was driving,without using the brakes I was just driving!!
After they saw me driving at a speed of 100 km/hr they knew I am not going to be submissive to them, so they finally gave up. I reached home in full sweat, I recollected myself in the parking lot and then went up to face my parents. This incidence would have devastated them and they would have been in stress all their life if I had told them what happened, so I thought I would do that some other time when I can explain them better.
Girls please download the application as I did and make sure you utilize technology not just for social networking sites but also for your own safety!
I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.
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