Breath

I boarded the  lift  with  My colleague. Only two people can barely stand and travel in that lift. Fully armed with Miner's helmet[Helmet with a Torch on the top of it], Special Apron, Shoes  and a bunch of  instructions. Instructions were similar to flight announcements. I tried not to reveal my   tension and anxiety as we  commenced our descent to 1000ft . I was instructed 'Not move my body and lift my arms'.  I was told not to be  afraid as there won't be any light in the lift except at the gate of intermediate stations.  When the bell rang, I took a deep breath and slowly the  lift started moving vertically down. Added to the fear and anxiety,  I felt  suffocation inside the lift. Because of the heavy wire rope noise, I started imagining that anytime this rope could break resulting into a sudden fall. While I was visualising the worst, the lift stopped. It was the first station at  500ft.  As soon as the  guy opened the lift, I breathed freely with a sigh of relief.  I realised that once you are down it is just impossible to get out without this old  makeshift lift. Another 10 minutes we travelled to next  500ft. This time I felt difficulty in breathing and during the travel my companion always talked to me something which I did not register at all.

      As I reached the station, I looked  for  the miners, but  I could not see any  miners around. He told me to follow him and we walked through the tunnel which is  horizontal to the lift chute. The tunnel is as big as that of a  normal tunnel through which a  tempo can move. First He took me to a Yellow painted vehicle similar to a police van with  wire mesh around. He said, we need to travel another  2Kms to reach the spot where presently the mining is in progress. The top of this tunnel  was woven with steel [rock weaving] to arrest any sudden fall of material. Tunnel was totally dark except for the lighted places.  On the way we could hear public announcements. On another corner, I could see  water  gushing down and using heavy pumps  the water is continuously pumped out. After  a bumpy ride, we were now far away from the landing station and probably  under the main city. No one above  the surface know  about people  working 1000ft below them.

      Lot of risk is involved in  mining. If the mine hits an underground river, flooding can take place immediately.  There is  always the danger of  toxic or flammable  gas, radiation, fall of material, lack of oxygen etc. Everything in underground was working with  generator power. I was experiencing some difficulty in breathing and for the first time I felt the importance of air around us. Truly I experienced and understood the reasoning behind many  safety requirements in our standards.      Months passed. I read about Chile Mine Accident and the news about 33 miners trapped for many days  underground  and rescued safe later. Probably for many days, No contacts , No Food and No power.  I used to follow this news very closely as I felt like a miner a trapped underground. I realised that the Experience is the greatest trainer.. But then Life does not give chance to everyone to  learn everything by experience, and even if you want it also, it is not a desirable situation. But everyone is gifted with the ability to experience without actually going through. The  truth will be revealed, if you wish

 I never prayed anytime in my life to GOD for air to breathe. But Today  I thank him for the  realization of  the  value of breath. The  most precious gift I got  'when he breathed into my  lifeless body  to give me life.