Four men, somebody on the floor, dark beach, foreign land. We walked away. I don’t know if it was a man or woman, if it was a crime or not. We walked away, called the cops and left. My thoughts didn’t get closure.

The men were right, this is all we could do. Somehow, it doesn’t feel like enough. Last night may have been an exaggerated experience of the mind from overexposure to horror stories. But what if it wasn’t. I have played that incident in my mind a hundred times, every time it ends badly. I can’t find victory or closure in any scenario or reaction that could have occurred. At that moment I felt the need to do more. Jump in, fight and rescue, if someone needed rescue.

That is the reality of human nature. We assume everybody needs saving and hence the cape around our necks. Devdutt Patnaik had wonderfully illustrated in his talk on business sutra that if we saw a cheetah chasing the deer, we would immediately try to save the deer forgetting conveniently that the cheetah may not have eaten for ten days. In the balance of the world this is the only way for him to survive. Then, we would switch to saving the cheetah forgetting nobody actually needs our help. The balance has been perfectly set. But what must we do when it’s beyond God’s original plan for humanity, should we wear our underwear over our tights or not.

Sensibility says no, while the heart says leap in. Leap in and bear the consequences? Mr K is always right.

Back at the hotel, the bugee driver heard us out and told us of it being a regular feature of street violence because of excessive drinking and cautioned against getting involved. Yet, I found myself wondering.

As a girl, and a feminist warrior, I pounded a man double my age to the floor for inappropriate behaviour in front of a hundred people. Later that night my mother had explained me next time I should walk away, “How can I, I am not scared.” I screamed back. “You are not scared, you are going to be sensible.” She said calmly, “if he turned around and reacted you would have been in a worse place right now, walk away next time and get the right person to react for you.” Next day I got one eve-teaser arrested from outside of our school.

Mom was right, if I fought him, he could get an opportunity to do a larger act, but putting him away had a greater benefit for all of us.

I think I have found my closure. We did the right thing last night

Ruchira Darda

I am Ruchira Darda, a relationship coach, parenting expert, author, and entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience. Based in Mumbai, I work extensively in the areas of mindful living and emotional wellness. I am a TEDx speaker and focus on personality identification to help individuals and families build stronger, healthier relationships. I also lead and actively support initiatives such as the Lokmat MahaMarathon.