Kid dies in freak accident at the G-Spot

Most of the older traceurs from Mumbai are familiar with the G-Spot. That is the location where Parkour in Mumbai really started. That is also the birthplace of Team NUTs. You can say it is a sort of 'karma-bhoomi' of all Mumbai traceurs, a place of pilgrimage in itself if you consider Parkour in India or Mumbai. This was the place where I was considering holding our next Pk-Day.

But all that is a thing of the past now, everything has just changed!

It was a mixed reaction for me this morning, when I enthusiastically grabbed a copy of the DNA newspaper on my way to the parkour classes, hoping to read the new story on us that comes out today, but instead saw myself staring at the news of this incident at my most favorite training spot right on the front page. I didn't know what I should feel, happy (at the article), or sad (at this news).

It was a very sad thing indeed, and a bloody blow to the symbol of Parkour in Mumbai, when the most iconic landmark of the G-Spot came crashing down on the head of a young, 8-year old child who was hanging from one of the engines of the plane while playing underneath it, killing him immediately. The section, as most older traceurs here would recall, was already in a highly damaged condition, looking as if it could break off any minute, with even the slightest jump.

Despite the visible signs, and despite the warnings of other traceurs as well as the park authorities (who in good faith often let us scale the plane even when they didn't permit anyone else), a few irresponsible traceurs continued to 'practice' on the outer, decrepit section of the wing of the plane, not paying heed to any reason.

Just imagine what would have happenned had a traceur been involved in any such accident there. Just being on top of the plane when it came crashing down without anyone being underneath it at that time would have been enough to land him in serious trouble, but what if there were really children playing around in the surrounding area (which there usually are) when the wing/engine comes crashing down with you riding on its crest?

Whereas I am really sorry for the child with whom this incident occurred, at the same time I am highly thankful that none of the traceurs have actually been using this hotspot (not just the plane) for quite some time. If they had, the primary blame would have inadvertently shifted to the traceurs for negligence, and not to the park management, who would have happily pointed the police in our direction, stating that 'these kids never listen, they always climb and jump over that structure, making it even weaker than it already is'.

Any incident like this, if it has any involvement of a traceur, at the time when he happens to be practicing, will land not just the traceur himself in trouble, but would also bode ill for the future of parkour in our city and country. All of us are already suspect whenever we practice, and some idiot's irresponsible actions would land the entire community in a thick, hot soup. Just think about it.

Maybe this incident would help open the eyes of irresponsible traceurs all over, and make them more aware and respectful of their surroundings, and teach them to not train in places they shouldn't be training, in ways they shouldn't be using, and acting as if it is their birthright to practice wherever they wish to.

So if you really love the art, and want to ensure its survival and growth, then please be a bit more responsible people, when going out to do parkour. It is a highly dangerous activity, not just to yourself if you are untrained, but also to those around you if you are not careful.

Also, please refrain from using the G-Spot for a while. Let it cool down, better still wait for the rains to get over to really cool the place down literally.
Just be aware that despite not having anything to do with this incident, you could still land into trouble just showing up over there.

Admin Edit:
----Post reproduced as-is by The Architect on the PkMum Orkut forums----
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where i live because i and suraj started pk in mumbai!

no offence!

guys plz dont start fighting on this now atleast this is the birthplace of TEAM NUTS.the only reason i have posted this article here so that all traceurs n tracesues learn something from this unforunate incident......................

nuts was born there.....:-)
n sad hua !
so, how r u?

Akshat... I hope you're well matured to understand things and speak what you should and where you should.

He clearly mentioned it was the birthplace of TEAM NUTs and not Parkour Mumbai. You have SCRAPBOOK to greet people and ask about them. Being the owner of the community should atleast give you that sense...

This is a sad demise specially on the kid's family. I remember we all doing stuff on the wing. Let us all make this clear and firm that practice should be done only outdoors or in the gym where we have the equipments and no interference from anyone than ourselves.

Akshat, no offence!

Incidents such as this, and the reaction to them shows you what people are really made of.

Very good, just speaks volumes about everyone's level of maturity and responsibility.

The only person to have gotten the message so far is GILES, the person who is always considered the most childish, immature and irresponsible of the group.
Not one single person (apart from Me, Deepak and Nilesh, and now Giles) has gotten the real message behind it, instead are trying to justify themselves, give stupid excuses, or skirt the main issue altogether and point towards other minor, inconsequential things, or even worse, pick a squabble over something entirely unconnected with the topic on hand.


Just keep it up guys. It further reduces the list of people I really want to practice pk with, or to associate myself with.
Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Good luck with your childishness, your in-fighting and your politics.


And the people who preach to others to watch Pilgrimage should go and watch it themselves first, in a language that they understand. (Deepak I'm not referring to you, the intended recipient will no doubt know who he is.)

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Here is a sample of the responses I have been getting from people:

Parth:
"But did you notice the picture of the accident closely? The outer engine is the one that has fallen down, and we only used to practice on the inner one. So that means we are not responsible for what happenned."

At this point Edsel completely corroborates what Parth says, refusing to accept that we did infact even use the outer engine.
Anyway, there is no sense in trying to talk to Edsel, his refusal to accept his irresponsible mistakes is one of the major reasons he was removed from the team.

He goes on further to state:
"And the BMC sent a notice to the park 15 days ago stating it was in an unstable condition. We stopped going there 6 months ago. Meaning it was safe when we used to climb it, it only got unsafe 15 days ago when the BMC sent their notice."
"And I only used to do so-and-so move(s) on the engine. That wasn't dangerous."

Again, he showed a complete refusal to listen to the fact that the plane was damaged even back then, and people including team members and authorities did point that out and tried to stop us. After all he will try to justify himself, he was the main person who went clambering over that plane whenever we were there, all others actually followed his suit. (I'm not trying to put the blame on him here though, but the fact remains that he was a major offender where the plane was concerned)


Giles aka `The Kid` is the only one who shows maturity:
"Yeah, but it could still have been the inner engine that could have fallen down instead of the outer one."
"The accident could even have happenned back when we were practicing over there."


Akhil's response has been the best so far: Instead of learning something/anything from this unfortunate incident, he tries to find the best way to shift all the blame on me in his usual childish manner and his personal deluded vendetta against 'the tyranny of NOS'. He forwards a screenshot of the old description of the G-Spot given on the hotspots page
(http://www.parkourmumbai.com/hotspotcom ... hp?state=3)
to a traceur, with the part about instructions on climbing the plane (written by me in an age long gone by) in highlighted text, very conveniently overlooking the updated comment right below, and the news item and forum thread made for the same in light of the changed situation.

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At this point, I would even state that, assuming everything has cooled down when anyone goes to the G-Spot after the rains, and assuming they haven't carried out repairs in the place, you should even stay away from the train. Even that was visibly cracked in many places, and it is even a more dangerous thing to break because whereas the area under the plane's wings is open and visible from all angles, the same cannot be said of the train.