Last Saturday, I had a chance to travel by a Tonga, from Amritsar to Attari. It was the month of July and the sky was over cast. The horse of the Tonga was quite a good animal. It seemed to be well-fed.
For the first few miles, it galloped at a steady pace. When we were nearing Attari, it began to rain cats and dogs. The road became muddy and slippery. At times, the horse slipped and we received jerks and jolts. Once I was almost thrown out of the Tonga.
When we were only a furlong from our destination, another Tonga was seen coming from the opposite direction. It was running at top speed. The driver was constantly whipping the horse to run faster and faster. Soon the horse got out of his control.
As ill-luck would have it, it struck against our Tonga. Our Tonga struck against a tree and was broken to pieces.
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The occupants of the Tonga were thrown off their seats. Two of them were seriously wounded. I and my friend Mr. Shanti received scratches and bruises all over the body. We were all crying in pain. The Tonga driver broke his head. He lay in a pool of blood. The horse was almost strangled.
The traffic came to a standstill. The passers-by rushed to the spot shouting, “An accident ! An accident !” We were removed to a shady place. We were offered cold water to drink.
We felt some relief. The driver of the other Tonga was held up. He was found to be dead drunk. He was charged with rash driving and taken to the police-station for his statement to be recorded.
A bus bound for Amritsar passed that way. It was made to stop there to pick us up. We were taken to the civil hospital. First aid was rendered to all of us. My friend and Shanti were allowed to go home after first aid had been rendered to us. The other two serious cases were admitted to the hospital.
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The accident was very serious but by God’s grace, there was no loss of life.