'My unresponsive knee'

"Arre Bhai, yaha patient kaun hai?" shouted the ward boy firmly clinging on to the wheelchair, standing dazed in front of the half open backdoor of the Maruthi Omni.
It was around eleven on a full moon night in the second week of the cold month of December. While the whole of Mussoorie was basking in the moonlight, I could see Robin standing next to me sweating profusely, calculating the consequences of the fall.
We had driven for around twenty to twenty five minutes at breakneck speed to reach a hospital on that fateful night. The headlights of the car had unfortunately malfunctioned and it is in this time of distress that ‘Chandamama’ had generously parted with his light to guide us through the woods to reach the only hospital available for miles in the area.

Relieved to have finally reached the place, Robin turned towards me saying, "Bro, wait for me here. I will try to get a wheelchair for you..." before jumping out of the car and rushing towards the main door.
The hospital was a newly built building but scarce in doctors. The irony was that, it had a huge red plus sign in the front with LED lights highlighting 24 hours emergency.

Sachin had planned a night trek through the hills of Benog wildlife sanctuary hoping for a beautiful view of the Algar River valley the next morning. With almost all our evenings together spent on discussions about the possible adventure options one could explore in the area, this trek was a welcome opportunity as we were to move to our next destination in a couple of days. Though we had visited the 'Cloud's end' a few times before, this night trek felt exciting enough to tingle our adventure senses to conveniently push our safety protocols under the rug.

Robin was the first one to pack his bags. His excitement soon turned into anxiety as only a couple of kilometers into the trek, I tripped over a log only to find myself rolling down a huge inclined slope struggling to catch hold of something firm to break the flow of the fall. I had read about friction and it’s effects when in motion in my Physics classes but had not anticipated a practical session on that day at the cost of several severe bruises and a probable dislocated left knee.

“Are you Okay?” shouted Sachin from a distance, trying to reach my landing site. “Well, I can’t confirm that…” I said trying to smile through the pain, examining the blood gushing from my wounds. “My knee doesn’t seem to respond to my brain's commands…do you think it’s revolting?” I asked Robin once they reached me, trying to ease his drawn eyebrows that were starting to look even more concerning than my injury.
“Shut up you moron…Looks like a fracture to me. What do you reckon?” he asked Sachin who, after examining my leg, nodded in agreement. The next few moments felt like the fast forwarded scenes of thriller movie where I was dumped in a Maruthi Omni and taken for a trip down the Fast and Furious path until we reached the hospital. I strongly believe that, had there been any speed limit sensors in the area, Sachin would have earned the record for breaking all of them on that day.

“Let me just hop in. Wheelchairs and stretchers make me conscious” I complained to Sachin who helped me up with one of my hands on his shoulders and his, supporting my back.

Ironically, there I was, completely leaning for support on the shoulders of a well built, muscular thirty year old lawyer, who rather looked more like a bodybuilder, whom I had met only a couple of weeks ago in one of my travels to Delhi and hatched a trekking expedition with. Another partner in crime was an average built Punjabi Munda, in his early twenties, who was fanatically running around the hospital floor, trying to find a wheelchair for me, a person he hardly knew beyond my first name.
It is on this day that I learnt the actual definition of Friendship and Humanity overall. The two of them took great care of me that day, a person they hardly knew beyond his bearded face and a camouflaged rucksack. Of course, I was a Madrasi to these Northis, but, it’s the bond of friendship that bound us. Though I had the honor of meeting a lot of such good people in the length of my travel days, these two will always be inked as the ‘special ones' for their care, concern and the unique bond of friendship we share even to this day. My father equates these special equations in a simple one liner, "That's life..."he says. " You meet a lot of people in your journey of life. Some of them get down at various stations. But there are some who continue their journey with you till the end." he says in his charecteristic uncomplicated way of looking at life.

Over the next few days of my recovery, I was advised by the doctors not to travel, as my injured knee required complete rest to heal back to full fitness. The efforts they took to shift me to Sachin's house in Karolbagh, Delhi and make me feel comfortable in every regard cannot be explained in words. I attribute my full recovery to the care taken by my buddies at that time of need. Though away from family, they made it a point to fill the void with their friendship that helped in my speedy recovery.

“Arre pagal, tera knee respond kar raha hai kya?” is the question I’m greeted with everytime I meet these two idiots, even to this day.