A Phone Call

"Mohan, your sister is not well, you need to come back to the village" said a relative in the village over a phone call to Mohan who works at Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. He is the sole breadwinner in the family. An urgent phone call and his bedridden sister were strong reasons for him to go back to his village for a few days.

Mohan was worried about his coming expenses but little did he know that this phone call was a lifesaver. After a few days when he came back, nothing was the same. He was not even allowed to go near his workplace. All he could see everywhere were sick people either coughing or breathless due to the toxic air near the carbide factory he got to know from the passersby that Bhopal gas tragedy had happened. How come he got this lucky? Mere serendipity?

His family couldn't believe how their only son survived the deadly incident.