I still remember the days when I used to wake up enthusiastically in the early mornings and ride on my bike to a fitness centre located not very far away during my growing days in Trivandrum. I had friends there, who used to wait for me in the entrance, or in the locality of the ground where we did jogging and warming exercises before stepping into the roughness of the gymnasium. We used to be the gym mates, who usually help each other when one of us needed a support on the bench press bar, while doing heavy exercises.
This particular day also, I did the same thing. While drinking the tea, seeing the college girls and working women walking to the nearby bus stop I found that I was late that day, at least by half an hour. I saw a few of girls walked past me. But, a few minutes later, my attention was diverted to the direction where the girls walked, when I heard some noises from there.
Every day on our way back, after working out nearly for one or more hours, I had a regular stopover at a road side open tea shop. Despite of my gym mate’s warning on eating oily delicacies kept open to the air since the breakout of the morning, and tea prepared in not a very healthy manner, I found my craze for those goodies were getting increased. It became my habit to stop there every morning, and order a tea, while munching something oily by leaning on my bike which was parked close to the tea shop.
This particular day also, I did the same thing. While drinking the tea, seeing the college girls and working women walking to the nearby bus stop I found that I was late that day, at least by half an hour. I saw a few of girls walked past me. But, a few minutes later, my attention was diverted to the direction where the girls walked, when I heard some noises from there.
Just like every other onlooker, I also rushed to the spot, expecting something accident-like. But, I saw the girl who just passed me was standing there, all in tears in the middle of the crowd, while a local ruffian with a bloody nose tried to escape from another young man who tried to punch him.
From the explanation from the girl, what I deduced was something like this. This girl used to go to a textile shop nearby, where she worked as salesgirl. Every day she was ogled and became the victim of the lewd comments passed by this dirty ruffian. The first few days, she just tried to forget about the misbehavior by this jobless guy. But, when she felt that he was trying to break the limits, she complained to her brother.
On this particular day, this brother waited just among us in the pretext of going somewhere or having a morning tea from the tea shop. He saw her sister coming, and she signaled him with a move of her eyebrows that the villain was waiting just a few paces ahead. Her brother put an eye on him, while sipping the last drops of tea. When he noticed the ugly mannerisms from the guy, and the obscene comments his dirty tongue just delivered, he put the glass somewhere, and attacked the hooligan with clenched fist.
The first punch itself was on his nose. So he couldn’t see where the punches were coming in. He knew he was being beaten up by someone very energetic, while a few people tried to separate them. The girl, all in tears, explained everything to the curious crowd, and the gathering was dissolved in a few minutes, when the local chap got a warning from the law-abiding crowd on his misbehavior for the final time.
I still remember her brother’s timely involvement and the risk he took in order to save his sisters pride. Salute to him! He is a real soldier who stood for women.
