In October 2009, I visited a number of places in Kerala along with my friend Ravi. When we reached Thekkady, we were told that the high court of Kerala imposed a blanket ban on boating. Thekkady is famous for its boating, so with the main attraction no longer in play, we decided to go trekking and had a gala time through the forest assisted ably by two very knowledgeable guides.
On our way back, we asked them what happened on the fateful day. One of them narrated the incident as if it unfolded in front of his eyes. There are a number of boats that are used to ferry the tourists on an 8 mile journey up and down the most scenic lake. This fateful boat was the newest and technologically the latest and most well built. This boat had two decks – the lower and the upper deck. The journey began with full load of tourists on both the decks, as they progressed; the guide noticed a herd of elephants on the shore to his left and announced the same. Immediately every one on the boat ran from their right to the left edge of the boat in a flash, the boat overturned, the bottom end of this lake is made of clay and the overturned boat got stuck in the clay. Most of the tourists on the lower deck survived while most on the upper deck got stuck in the clay and died of breathlessness before any help arrived. In all, about 43 people died. High court came down very heavily on the authorities and imposed a blanket ban on boating till further notice, suspended all those in charge in the tourism department and forced the authorities to come up with a safety plan for the future. I am sure the technical design of the boat should have taken this extreme scenario into consideration. We felt very sad and sorry for the lost lives, most of them very young which included a newly married couple from Andhra on their honeymoon.
Relate this story to what harm a herd mentality can do to you and forget the rest of the story. Never follow the herd. Think and act. Make your own choices in life and take responsibility for the consequences. Create and tread your own path to success.
Good Luck!
Simple and excellent story with outstanding moral. Will surely help one introspect and re-plan priorities in life.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story Nanda. I shared this story with two of my cousins last week. They too liked it.
ReplyDeleteHad the pictures contained you, it would have enhanced the personal touch for this article. I am too not very good at taking pictures, but realized that personalized pictures enhance the reader's ability to relate to the author and his/her message much deeply. So, don't miss the opportunity to click a picture whenever you can, especially when you visit something just once in a life-time. They will also help to keep your memories fresh when you look back at them.
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