It was way back in December 2004. My unit was moving from Kashmir valley to Siliguri in West Bengal. We had been staying in Samba, a place near Jammu from where the special train we had booked would take us to Siliguri. Also our unit vehicles would go by road to Siliguri from Samba.
I was deputed by my Commandant to take the convoy safely by road. Everyone wanted to avoid such a long road journey as train journey is always more comfortable. So I planned this movement would take about 7 days as the distance involved was about 2000 kms and there would be about 20 vehicles. It’s quite unlike going in your own vehicle in which case it would take about 3 days. Managing a convoy in such long route is a difficult thing. There would be about 100 jawans in those vehicles and everything from night halt accommodation to food to vehicle breakdown to illness had to be catered for.
After 2 days of receiving the order I briefed my Commandant about my plan and it was okay-ed. The next day we decided to move.
At about 0800 hours we started our journey. I was in a gypsy (a light vehicle like jeep). After about 2 hours a truck laden with apples from Kashmir lost control and hit our vehicle. Luckily the truck was not in a very high speed. It was a national highway though at that time it was not one way, which means on the same road traffic comes from both direction.
My gypsy was hit from behind and it toppled immediately. It rolled a few times on the road and then settled with my side of the vehicle facing the road and the driver side facing the sky. It happened so fast that the others described later to me what had happened.
For me what I remembered is that time stopped or slowed down. As I have read in many places, snippets of my whole life passed in front of my eyes. May be that’s why I don’t remember the rolling of the vehicle. By whole life it doesn’t mean the whole life.
I was 32 then so it’s not that the whole 32 years plays in front of your life, but only small clips from the whole life. But I distinctly remember that it happens in a sequence starting from the youngest age till the present time. May be, about 10 to 15 clips from my past came in front of me. Also it’s not that the major incidents of my life was visible, it was all trivial things.
I guess the toppling and rolling of vehicle would have taken a few seconds only, but for me it seemed an eternity for I was watching the trailer of my life. Luckily me, my driver and my guard none of us where thrown out of the vehicle. Also though the vehicle settled on the wrong side of the road but as no vehicle was coming from the other side so we were not hit a second time. Best of all no one was seriously injured just minor scratches though the vehicle was damaged a lot.
When I understood what had happened I found my driver weighing down on me as the vehicle had settled down on my side, the guard was also safe. We got out from the driver window, checked ourselves for injuries.
I had read in many places that this experience happens in near death incidents and I could very well correlate to it. The other thing I have read is that a tunnel of light appears with may be a relative who had died previously, comes to take the soul. But I think that would happen when someone gets seriously injured and dies there. I did not see it. May be it was not my time.
Well after my vehicle was repaired, we started again after a few days and thankfully reached Siliguri safely. So that was my near death experience and I must say it’s quite humbling.
Scary