SOS - Calling your own Krishnas for Help


*This post won runner-up prize in Smart Suraksha Contest on BlogAdda.

When panic strikes, we desperately look for help. How we wish we could have updated our phonebook with numbers of distant relatives in new city or could have charged the cell before leaving home. During those tough moments we want some magic to happen, someone to come to our rescue and I can say that from experience. In 2007 when I started my CS practice, I travelled a lot to Delhi from Ambala. It was usually a day trip. I used to board bus from Ambala Cantt station and park my Activa in the parking lot nearby.

In early December that year, I thought of coming back on a train from Delhi and missed the train I was targeting. I always boarded trains from Azadpur Station to avoid the rush of New Delhi Railway Station. Since I was in no mood to go back to Delhi Bus Station, I boarded the next passenger train. Not so aware that such trains are slow and stop at every station, the journey which normally takes 3 hours, took more than five. I called home to tell my family not to worry as I was safe and will reach around 11 PM. It was close to 10 when I reached Ambala Cantt and being winter the roads were deserted by that time and that day there was close to zero rush in the parking lot.

Normally I don't panic but since there was not much activity around, I felt a little scared. What followed next added to my worry. There were some rowdy boys who started following me and I paced towards the parking lot. I went to the counter to show my parking ticket and thought of asking help from the man sitting in the cabin but to my sheer bad luck, I felt he was drunk. I took out my phone, so I could call back home but since I was making and attending calls in Delhi the entire day, roaming charges wiped off my balance. I didn't have enough balance to call home. But sensing the circumstances around me, I pretended to call home looking continuously at the boys. They went away and I felt a little relieved but my heart kept pounding heavily.

When I put my bag in the Activa, I thought I would zip as fast as I could out of the parking lot but that didn't happen. My two wheeler didn't start. I tried everything from kicking it several times to dragging it but nothing happened. It was one of the very few moments in my life when I felt like crying. I felt helpless and I wanted someone to come and offer me some help. In fact I cursed myself for acting brave and traveling alone that late at night. Ambala is a comparatively safe city but the Wine and Beer shops around the station area makes it really unsafe at night. There were only two choices for me, either to ask help from the man in charge of parking lot who I thought was drunk or drag the Activa out of the deserted parking lot and go to the main road where there was little activity and a STD booth. 

Till date I don't know how I mustered the courage to drag my Activa to the nearest phone booth. I called home and told my parents to come pick me. That day I understood why some girls are scared of traveling alone or going out at night. I always thought, they were not brave enough but I was wrong. Some situations demand you to be cautious. When you are stuck at the wrong place at the wrong hour, you realize few of your mistakes, like missing your train or not saving enough balance to call family in need.

My parents came to pick me and I joked with them on how Draupadi had powers to call Lord Krishna for help during her cheer-haran and wish girls today have such powers to call someone for help during such difficult times. After all, crime against women has only increased. We need more protection and preparedness now. Little did I know that technology would come to our rescue soon. Thanks to Apps like Smart Suraksha, now we can send message to five selected people and police with the press of a button. It not only alerts your family and friends but also sends your location without your GPS being on. You can also record important message like bike number of the guy who is stalking you on a deserted road and send it to your pre-assigned five contacts. You can call not one but five people for help. Isn't it a great way of assuring yourself that you can reach for help anytime, anywhere? I wish I had Smart Suraksha with me that cold frightening December night.

With the increasing number of crime against women in our country, all of us should be prepared for unforeseen dangers. Downloading safety apps like Smart Suraksha would not only came handy in difficult times but also give us a sense of security. So, ladies download Smart Suraksha and call your own Krishnas for help.

Safety, Women, India, Apps

*I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.

Comments

  1. Now that is a great app to have!

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  2. This App is pretty good and they have developed it brilliantly,But now this has to be widespread among females..

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  3. V well written. I agree with every word u wrote.

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  4. Boy, a harrowing experience indeed. good luck for the context

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  5. Thanks for sharing Saru. Downloading right away.

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  6. Nicely written Saru :) This app would be very useful for all. Thanks for sharing about this. A much needed app for every women these days...

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  7. Hi Saru

    very nicely written post..ur experience was indeed a scary one. All the best for the contest :)

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  8. Such experiences are hair raising indeed and wish no girl has to undergo this, Saru !

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    1. Right Sir and for that we should be cautious and prepared.

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  9. Your experience was scarry I'm sure but also an eye opener. And hope with your post and your re-count of the incident, many of us do download this app!

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    1. I hope so too. Such apps are of great help. Thanks for reading.

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  10. I understand how you must have felt Saru. It really gives goose bumps. I have gone through one or two myself and it surely leaves a deep impression.

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    1. Sorry to hear that. Such incidents teach you a lot though.

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  11. That's a great piece based on real life incident. Your experience is indeed very scary and many thousands of girls go through spine chilling experiences every day.Security for girls/women in India is thoroughly inadequate or virtually non existent. Not heard of this App before but shall try & find out more info. Thanks for the input.

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    1. Right Sir, sadly such incidents are only increasing in our country. Please check the app and tell all the females in your family and friend circle to download it. And, thanks for reading.

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  12. When you didn't feel safe back then, then wonder what the girls today have to go through today, no wonder smart suraksha would be wonderful. Nice post!

    Cheers,
    Blasphemous Aesthete

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  13. Wow! What an intriguing read it is!
    Reading such posts make me realize what I have missed since so many days :(
    Keep writing:)

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  14. I am getting so read so many interesting posts because of this contest.. yours was the best!

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  15. Indeed it is a great app Saru. This is a great post as well. Keep writing :)

    Someone is Special

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  16. I'm glad such Apps are coming up. Very useful they'll be. And Saru, hats off to your courage and presence of mind.

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  17. That must have been scary Saru! Good to know that these apps are now in place BUT a sad commentary on Society that they have become necessary

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    1. Yeah, it's really sad that we can't comfort our own daughters.

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  18. indeed a nice app and well reviewed also :) all the best !

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  19. Girl, it is one of those experiences you won't forget in a lifetime. You are so right, Saru. Wrong decisions and wrong time and wrong place, everything matters. Really good to know about the app. It will be useful to many. Good luck for the contest.

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    1. Very true Latha. I can't forget that day till date. Thanks for your wishes.

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  20. A thoughtful step in favor of woman... I liked it. I know how much it scares when one woman has to move alone at dark. Smart Suraksha will prove to be very helpful. :)

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  21. Definitely a terrible experience to go through and the worst is that it doesnt end does it.. not in our country :|.. the eternal optimist in me hopes these apps will work..

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  22. It is surely useful to have such apps and a big hats off to the creators of this app. In India today its a must for all women. You had the courage and thats why managed to get back home, I guess its those who give up who get cornered more easily. I would love to say that a particular city is safe in our country but I cant. My mom who is now 50 experienced something like this with guys trying to grab her hand at night. Thank god for the coolie who told her to rush behind him and took her to a cop.

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    1. OMG! That is really shocking. Don't know where things are going these days. We need some strict laws and its implementation.

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  23. Things like this are the need of the hour for India to protect its women

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  24. Great post as usual Saru ! Thanks for sharing. Its true that only common sense can be a women's biggest aid in times of crisis.

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    1. Common sense and presence of mind are the greatest asset in times of stress. Thanks for reading dear.

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  25. I can relate to the feeling.
    You have written a wonderful post. I loved the way you have used episode from Mahabharata to illustrate your point.

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  26. That must have been a very scary experience, I am so glad you stayed so brave and confident even in such a situation. The girl in the story could be any girl/woman in our Country and many times the story would end differently. That is the tragic part. It's good to see apps such as Smart Suraksha, created to safeguard women but the fact that they have become a necessity, speaks volumes about how low our society has descended, in general.

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    1. It does speak a lot about how and where we are. Such apps are indeed very handy.

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  27. Looks like an useful app. Nicely written, good luck!

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  28. Very true. It's always good to have such apps in case of mishaps and emergencies.

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  29. Post the Delhi gang-rape incident, many app developers have prepared apps that can send an sos to close ones along with their location to help them in time of need. This one seems to be good..

    Well written Saru.

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  30. Congrats on winning the gift-voucher Saru.

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