Breaveheart aunty

I have heard a lot of stories of brave acts comitted by commoners. How bravely commoners fought tooth and nail for the justice or protection. How the good conquers the evil. How commoners have the grit to fight against injustice or just a bad person. One story particularly stands out. This was a gallant act of bravery by a woman to protect her home and children from an intruder. This particular act comes from the complex where I used to stay as a child. The protagonist of this story is Mrs T.

Mrs T, a working woman used to live in our complex with her family - husband and two children. Her children were several years older to me. I had always seen Mrs T with wrinkles and grey hair. I had never seen her in her youth. However Mrs T was known for her dashing nature. She was fierce. She was fearless. She was a lioness. She became a celebrity in out town because of her heroic act.

This incident occurred several years before my birth, so I have heard this story from various sources. Each source would tell the story with their own version of events. Yet, the central idea and the outcome of Mrs T's bravery would remain unchanged.

Late 70s or early 80s were known to be notorious decades of Mumbai, especially because of the ever rising crime rate. While murders and extortion used to occur in broad daylight, theft was considered to be a milder form of crime. There would be news of theft every now and then. No commoner was unaffected because of the rise of underworld of Mumbai. Any time, any day, one could find a criminal at their doorstep. Commoners were helpless so were the police. There was such an incident that took place in our complex which changed this narrative.

As I was told: It was a quiet night. The city was sleeping. The streets were quiet. The signs of life included a few barking stray dogs. The city would be in the sweet slumber by 11 PM. Such was the time before computers and smartphones. Security guards would be on the duty. However, they were too old, too tired, too sleepy, or too coward to perform their duty. Their presence was only for complying with the local law. Security guards would hardly contribute to protection of the sleeping civilians. Nighttime used to be the time when the criminals used to be the most active. Also, they would be more successful owing to the dark. The sluggish atmosphere would create a perfect breeding ground for the crime.

It was one such nights. It was close to the midnight. Most people were fast asleep. So were the security guards. Criminal activity had already begun in the vicinity. A thief entered our society complex. He must have studied the society well. He knew the schedule of the security guard. He knew that nobody in the society comes back from a night duty. He knew where the main gate of the society was. He exactly knew which compound wall was easy to climb. The thief was planning to rob the houses on the ground floor. At that time rarely any houses would have grills or barricades. The access to these houses was easy from the balconies. The thief had successfully robbed two houses in the complex in the same night. Now he moved to the third house. The thief had no idea what was written in his fate for that night.

The third house where the thief broke in was Mrs T's home. Mrs T was a light sleeper. Though the thief was moving quietly, she understood that someone had broke in. She went to the kitchen and quietly grabbed a thick iron pan. Along with that she grabbed a wooden stick. She moved like ninja. When she noticed the thief was entering her bedroom she attacked the intruder with the domestic weapons she had gathered. She hit the thief in his head with the pan. The thief fell down due to this blow. While he was getting up she hit him with the wooden stick. Mr T woke up because of the commotion. Mrs T was fighting like Rani Lakshmibai. Mr T grabbed a bedsheet and tied the thief with it. Then he called up the police to arrest the thief. By the time the police arrived, the thief was happy to leave with them. Mrs T had beaten the thief badly enough. Furthermore, all stolen jewelry and money was recovered from the thief which were handed over to the real owners.

Mrs T became a celebrity. Every event, function, or gala that would happen in our complex, she would be the chief guest. That was how the complex thanked her. She deserved a lot more for her bravery. Unfortunately, no government body awarded her for her protective act.

Mrs T used to speak about that incident. She thought only about one thing that night - the safety of her asleep children. Any noise would have alerted the thief. She did not know if he was armed. She felt that the offense was her only defence. That way she could have bought time to wake her husband. That pure thought of protecting the children gave her the strength. Adrenaline did the remaining part.

Even today when I narrate her story to anyone, they are impressed with her bravery. The maternal instict turned an ordinary woman into a protector. She deserved her bestowed name of "Braveheart aunty".