There are many stories in my life but I would like to share the one which always comes first in my mind whenever we talk about unique story. It was in year 1995-1996, I was like 8-9 years of age and have some strong images stored in my mind about that incident.
Picture taken by @shahzad-ansari in 2015 on our way to Sukkur
My father planned a surprise visit to Sukkur (city) to meet his siblings. My eldest bro was already there spending his summer vacations with cousins and enjoying the holidays. I, my parents and my two brothers started journey to Sukkur in train.
We didn’t inform anyone in Sukkur that we are on our way and just boarded the train. It takes 8-9 hours to reach Sukkur from Karachi so what I remember that we left Karachi in daytime and reached at Sukkur station in dark.
Picture taken by @shahzad-ansari in 2015 on our way to Sukkur
The A/C compartment was very comfortable and we had a great time in it. It was raining outside but we didn’t face any problem till we reach Sukkur station. It was all good until we arrived our destination.
We didn’t thought of what was waiting for us that night in Sukkur. There was a surprise waiting for us instead of us giving a surprise to my uncles & aunts. At station, it was raining heavily and we rushed to the Rickshaw stand to take a ride. Unfortunately, no one was ready to take us due to roads were full of rainwater and there is no way to reach our destination i.e. uncle’s home.
We were shocked to hear such stories that the roads are blocked and there is no way to communicate or reach at other side of the city. We do not have cell phones at that time which could be a good way to have updates or to communicate on the other side. We were stuck there, next train to Karachi was after 24 hours which is also not confirmed because of flood on the tracks.
There was one more family and a single young army man who returned from his duty to spend few weeks with his family. So we all convinced couple of rickshaw drivers and headed towards our destination. Water was everywhere, from the skies and from the land. It was not easy for them to ride in such a situation.
They managed to take us half of the way and then refused to go further. There were news all over that rainwater stuck on the roads is about 4-5 feet and it has many poisonous animals and insects inside the water. I remember that we were sitting in one of the old fashioned restaurants and having tea, whereas my father and other aged people were having corner meeting and discussing to get the solution.
They finally convinced one donkey cart owner to make us cross that terrible road. The kids and women were sitting on the cart whereas three corners were pulled up by three powerful men in which one of them was my father. The donkey face was almost in the water and he was jumping to walk through in the water. That image of us crossing the road is still stuck in my mind, cannot forget. It was too filmy. There was too much risk involved but no other option or chance so, we took our chances and prayed to reach home safely.
Thank God, finally, we crossed that part and reached on the other side of the city. It was the happiest moment for all of us. Those faces and tears OMG! what an emotional scene. As if we have accomplished some impossible task. It was no less than a mission impossible movie.
Knock knock!!! My cousin opened the door and he was in a big shock and started screaming. All of them gathered and were surprised how we managed to reach there, it was a miracle. My father succeeded in his plan and there were smiles everywhere.