Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A news report said that rescue operations to pull out a grounded merchant ship had been suspended because the tug engaged in the rescue bid itself ran aground! I have had plenty of similar experiences and had begun to wonder if I was some kind of a Jonah. Not long ago, we were going to Jaipur by road when we came across a massive traffic jam. It turned out that a recovery vehicle attempting to remove two trucks in a collision had broken down and was blocking the highway. Now they needed another recovery vehicle to pull out the first one!
The other day we had a problem with our electricity supply. We called up an electrician who promised to come soon. When he had not turned up until the evening we called again. He told us quite agitatedly that he had come twice and had rung the bell repeatedly but nobody opened the door! If we had electricity supply, we wouldn8217;t8217; have needed him in the first place!
We came home and had sandwiches.
I have experienced lots of such incidents and I swear I am not making them up. Like the lift that got stuck on the 24th floor and could not be repaired because the repairman refused to climb up. Old-timers would recall the Harry Belafonte song, 8216;There8217;s a Hole in the Bucket8217;, wherein the hen-pecking Lisa keeps on needling Henry to fetch water in a bucket and old Henry coolly answers step by step how he cannot do so because of a hole in the bucket, to mend which water is required but cannot be fetched because of the hole!
Let me end with a secret. I spent over 30 years in the Navy but cannot swim. Fortunately, I never needed to!
