For a child father is a great security in life and for a wife it is the husband- this feeling came to my mind yesterday when I was journeying from Jeypore to Govindapally.

I was sitting in a 2/2 bus. Another row of seat which was close to mine was occupied by a young couple. I could see them bubbling happily in the joy of togetherness. They talked, giggled and held each other’s hand lovingly. They were lost in their world of new love. At a bus stop the bus halted and the man got off for some reason. After a while when the bus blew horn to depart the women became frightened and worried as her husband had not returned. She looked expectantly through the windows. She could not sit patiently in her seat. She got up & rushed to the door and looked both the ways. Nervousness and panic was visible on her face. I consoled her not to worry. But she was so panicked that she could hardly believe my words. And in the mean time the man came with two bottles of cool drink. At his very sight the woman switched into a sunny smile. Her all anxiety calmed down and blushed because her behavior was a frightened reaction to the sound of the horn.

This incident pushed me 25 years back. I was a boy of 5 years. I was traveling with my parents. My father left his seat and got down the bus to buy some orange for me. He had not yet got onto the bus and the bus started to roll ahead. I looked for my father but could not see. My heart started to beat faster and I burst into a deafening cry. The thought of separation from my father haunted me so deeply that all the consolation of my mother had became useless. My cry was so loud that almost all the passengers had got to their feet to see what happened. My mother was put in an awkward situation but I remember that my cry was for my father and it had come involuntarily because he was synonymous to my life’s security.

I feel deeply sad for all those sons, daughters and wives who have lost their near and dear in accidents, plain hijack, terrorist attacks, wars or natural calamity.