Yet another survival story from the tainted Baisaran valley in Pahalgam. We survived the horror to tell the story of what can only be described as monstrous act and paint the heavenly beauty blood-red with hellfire.By the grace of the God, luck, and some quick thinking from an Army officer saved not only our life but lives of another 35-40 people that day. Here's how the events unfolded for us that day.
#Pahalgam #PahalgamTerroristAttack We had postponed our trip by 2 days due to bad weather to cover Pahalgam in our 8 day trip and visit the place which is described by many as paradise in Kashmir on the fateful day. Little did we know the ramifications of that one decision. We were four of us that day me, my wife, my brother and my sister-in-law who traveled from Srinagar to Pahalgam by car. My brother is a senior officer in the Indian Army and was on vacation to spend time with the family and accompanied us for the trip. We reached Pahalgam town around 12:30pm on Tue, 22nd April and took the pony ride to Baisaran valley and reached by 1:35 pm. It was completely muddy road until the top and covered by Pine trees on the hills all around. The 2 pony guides talked to us of the beauty and charm that is Pahalgam . We entered by the main gate like everyone else and went to one of the cafes setup by the left side of entrance. We were taken away by the majestic view and the landscape and enjoyed it with a cup of tea and kawa. The clock showed 02:00 PM, so we got up to take a stroll and click some photos of what should have been the cover photo of the Kashmir trip album. We were lucky to move in the direction opposite of the entrance. 1/4Barely a few mins later we heard the first 2 gun shots loudly around 02:25 pm. It was followed by a pin drop silence for a min and everyone was just comprehending what had happened and the kids playing all around were still enjoying the best picnic of their life. I'm sure this was the first time most of them heard the loud and terrifying sound of a shot fired from AK-47. We ran to the nearest cover point behind the mobile toilet that was installed on the side some 400 mts from the entrance. I could see two bodies lying on the ground already. My brother knew immediately that this was a terrorist attack. Then the hellfire broke, the gunshots came in bursts and chaos ensued. There was cacophony of the crowd screaming out loud and running for life.What one cannot see clearly in the videos is that the entire meadow region is fenced, so there is not much room to escape. So most of the crowd ran towards the gate for escape where the terrorists were already waiting, like sheeps running to the tiger. We could see a terrorist approaching in our direction, so we decided to run the other way and fortunately we found a narrow opening under the fence and most of the people hiding slide through the fence and started running the other way. My brother (Army officer) with his wife took cover near the mobile toilet. He managed to calm down the other people nearby. He quickly assessed the situation and understood that fire was coming from the entry point. So he guided us and 35-40 tourists in the opposite direction. Fortunately we found an opening in the fence due to nala (pipe). He took us along with others, through the fence and asked us not to bunch up. He guided the people to run in the downward direction to move away from the place where the firing was happening. It was a slope where the water stream was flowing so gave some level of protection from direct line of sight. It was very slippery to run on the muddy slope but many slipped but managed to run for life.It was terrifying knowing no place is safe right now and anything could happen in the next moment. Just imagine the situation of having kids and elderly people with you and even worse scattered in the crowd and you don't know their location and whether they are safe or not. Words cannot describe the terror and horror one feels in such a situation and you feel really helpless. The worst part was there was mobile network coverage in that area to quickly alert the police. We four managed to take a cover in a narrow pit under the trees a few hundred metres from the location desperately praying for our lives. The sound of the gun shots continued to echo through the valley for half an hour until 3 PM. My brother managed to alert the unit stationed in Pahalgam and the army headquarters in Srinagar about the impending terrorist attack around 02:45 pm. We stayed put in the pit for an hour petrified, hopeless, and praying for safety. We didn't know if we had to stay put in the same place or run in some random direction hoping to escape the death trap. All the while thinking about our little children and parents who we had left behind home and not knowing when this will end.At around 03:40 pm we heard the first sound of helicopters that gave the first signal that things have moved and help is on its way. By 4 pm, we spotted the soldiers from special forces and army and heaved a huge sigh of relief. They spotted us and knowing that we were tourists they assured us that the entire perimeter has been secured by Army and it was safe for us to walk down the hill. We were still in shock, brains and senses were numb at this point while only the gunshots and the horror running in loop in our mind. We saw the people affected covered in blood being carried down and a range of emotions and thoughts and still unable to believe the events unfolded in the last 2 hours.It's beyond words and expressions to describe the horrific act and the monsters who took the life of those innocent people in front of their loved ones. The gun shots still echoes in our ears and the terror still makes my gut wrench. This will leave a permanent scar, a memory that cannot be erased of what Kashmir's beauty hides underneath. It's painful to see this happening in our country. I pray that nobody ever has to go through such experience of terror in their life. We pray for their souls and I hope God will provide justice to them. Finally I want to express my gratitude to my brother and the entire Indian Army because of whom we are alive to narrate this incident in person and be back together with our family. Jai Hind.