My mother, whenever I used to leave home after the expiry of leave, used to say: ‘May God and luck be always with you.’ I always wondered about the luck part but never asked her about it. However, I have received the answer. Over the years I have come across many incidents where luck has indeed played a predominant part in saving me and others from catastrophe.
‘Once I stopped my scooter at the crossing since the green light had turned into yellow, but the car behind me did not stop and it rammed into the scooter, throwing me forward. While the scooter was literally crushed to pulp, I got up with just a small scratch on my left thigh. Luck had played its part.’
‘In June 2025, Air India Flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad just 32 seconds after take-off. In addition to 19 people on the ground, 241 people in the aircraft died. The lone survivor on-board the aircraft was a young man occupying seat No 11A. He just walked out of the debris as if nothing had happened. What a luck!’
‘A few years back, a bus carrying 34 university staff members plunged into a deep gorge in Raigad, India. Only one person survived. Lucky no doubt!’
‘In a train derailment, regarded as India’s deadliest rail disaster, a passenger train plunged into the Bagmati River in Bihar during a cyclone. Out of over 800 passengers on board, lucky 88 survived.’
‘Consider the (in)famous attack on twin towers of World Trade Centre when two hijacked airplanes of American Airlines and United Airlines rammed into them on September 11, 2001. More than 2,600 people died in this accident. However, many escaped the tragedy through providence or luck because they were late in reaching their office in those buildings!’
A senior executive survived because he took his son to school for his first day of kindergarten. One woman survived because her alarm didn’t go off. One person was late because of the traffic jam enroutre. Someone’s car didn’t start, while another one spilled coffee and had to change clothes. One parent was delayed because his child was being unusually slow while one man simply couldn’t catch a cab.
The most interesting case of luck playing its part in survival perhaps was with the man who wore new shoes to work that day. On his way, his feet hurt, so he stopped at a pharmacy to buy band-aids.
There is a lesson in all these. Next time when you are struck in traffic, or miss the metro, or the kids are slow or the car keys are missing, you hit every red light or the boss asks you to stay back for some extra work, don’t fret and fume. Instead pause and think; the forced delay could be a blessing in disguise for you to save you from the ‘tragic moment.’ May your luck be always with you, like your shadow!
Wg Cdr DP Sabharwal
A thought-provoking read! Sometimes, what seems like bad luck may actually be a blessing in disguise. A beautiful reminder to trust life’s unexpected twists and turns! 😊
So well summed-up. Thanks a million