Heals On Wheels
Karimul Hak, 54
It isn’t easy living in villages like Dhalabari. Their proximity to West Bengal’s tea gardens might make them a convenient home for those who work on these estates, but their remoteness makes things like quality health care distant, often inaccessible. “Also, my people are very poor. Many of them cannot afford an ambulance, and so they can’t reach a hospital in times of crises,” says Karimul Hak. In 1995, when Hak’s mother suffered a heart attack in the dead of night, he couldn’t arrange for an ambulance despite all his efforts. “I was devastated,” he says. “I took a vow that day. I’d help people in distress.”
Four years later, when a colleague fell unconscious on the tea estate where Hak worked, he borrowed his manager’s motorbike and carried his friend to an emergency ward in Jalpaiguri. “As I saw him recover, I had an idea—I could offer the same service to many more people,” says Hak. In the past 20 years, Hak, 54, estimates he has helped close to 6,000 people reach a hospital in their hour of need. After using a secondhand bike for a few years, Hak bought a TVS110 with a loan he had taken: “The money I’d spend on my mother, I started spending on things like petrol, etc. I was doing this for her.”
This story is from the January 2021 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2021 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ME & MY SHELF
Human-rights lawyer, activist and teacher, Nandita Haksar is the author of 25 books. Her latest, Shooting the Sun: Why Manipur Was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent, looks at the complex identity politics surrounding the ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur in 2023.
Elevator from the Subcontinent, by Gigi Scaria, 2011
Elevator cabin with three backlit projections, automatic door system with microcontroller, 9.3 minute video.
RD RECOMMENDS
DUNE: PART 2 in theatres (1 March)
22 RIVERS across 22 STATES in 22 MONTHS
A lone canoeist crosses America in search of what binds us together
ELOPEMENT SPRINGS ETERNAL
At the ripe age of 65, we decided to run away and get married
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE TUAREGS
A journey to the Tassili n'Ajjer plateau in Algeria reveals rock paintings dating back millennia
Awarding Excellence
A look back at the 2023 Trusted Brand Award presentation ceremony hosted by Reader's Digest India last month.
The Great Unknown
An unlikely friendship helped my son grapple with divorce, death and ...
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
A couple, fleeing the shelling in Ukraine, are captured by Russian troops. It's up to their frantic son-living 2,400 km away-to get them free.
BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR MONEY (AND MANAGE IT TOO!)
This successful Internet entrepreneur, content creator and bestselling author shares his tips for anyone trying to kickstart their investment journey