The speaker recalls a kidnapping experience in Delhi in 2011. He accepted a lift from strangers, who turned out to be kidnappers. They demanded money from his family, eventually settled for 20,000 bucks, and released him near his home. The speaker reflects on his gratitude for not being harmed severely and the unpredictable nature of life.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator was brought up in a lower middle-class family.
2. On 20th March 2011, at 9:30 pm, the narrator got kidnapped in Delhi while trying to get home from the Metro station.
3. The narrator initially had two options: walk home or book an auto-rickshaw.
4. The narrator decided to take a lift from a stranger in a Maruti Zen car.
5. There were four kidnappers, all 20-25 years old, in the car with the narrator.
6. The kidnappers were armed with pistols.
7. The kidnappers took the narrator's watch, wallet, and mobile phone.
8. They forced the narrator to reveal the PIN of his ATM cards and withdrew cash.
9. The kidnappers demanded 1,00,000 bucks initially but eventually settled for 25,000 bucks.
10. The narrator's brother-in-law agreed to bring the money, and the kidnappers waited nervously.
11. One of the kidnappers went to collect the money and returned with 20,000 bucks.
12. The kidnappers then decided to drop the narrator near his home, warning him not to get kidnapped again.
These facts provide a chronological account of the narrator's experience during the kidnapping incident.