A DRAWING BOOK SAVED MY FATHER’S LIFE

It was just another rainy evening, when I, my mum & sister were returning home. As we were passing by the station lane, we saw a huge crowd of people there. Well I know this being India, crowds during the evening time on a work day during the week is a totally normal scene. But when I say crowded, I mean something other than the ordinary. We just peered out of the rickshaw as we saw the crowds there; having a slight suspect that something might be wrong. Brushing it off, we took it as some kind of train delay or something. How wrong were we, because when we returned home & just turned on the TV just to check if there was anything in the news about the scene at the station, the worst thing had happened. We learnt that there had been a bomb blast in the local railway train.

Now we started to panic & I mean really panic as we saw the horrible footage of the bloody scenes at the railway station on the TV, as my father hadn't reached home that evening, & it was getting pretty late. All three of us were down on our knees, crying, praying & begging God to keep him safe & praying that he was somehow miraculously okay, but still fearing the worst things at the back of our minds. We continued to do that as the time flew by & then there was someone at the door. We were over joyed & thrilled to see that it was my Dad!! Standing there at the door, totally fine, he had returned home to us, from somewhere we thought would be miles away. We thought we'd never see him again. We thought that was it. But how wrong we were yet again & this time how fortunate & blessed we felt to be wrong!

Then Dad told us of his journey home & how my Drawing Book had saved his life that day.

He usually always took that same train everyday to commute home from work, but just that day, he missed it as he had to buy my drawing book. He & a group of his friends always took that train everyday & sat in the very same compartment where the bomb was planted, but that day, not one

member from his group of friends were on that train! Amazing right?! Each one of his friends had missed the train that day because of their own personal

detours.

My dad still tells me this story even now, as this happened years ago when I was in junior college. I can never forget this story of how God saved my dad through the use of this little drawing book that could mean so many different things to different people, but means so much to me! Especially since my dad had discouraged me from pursuing a career in Art, & I really love art!

Even though I am pursuing a career of his choice today, I have learnt to love it & know & realize now that, all my dad wanted was for me to do well in life & maybe art alone wouldn't do that, so I am totally not against my dad anymore. But I really can see God's hand in this incident & it never stops amazing me from time to time. I praise & thank God firstly for saving my dad & sparing his life that day & also for using something of this significance to me, to do it!