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. 1/4
Barely 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
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
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.
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
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
Me and my family are safely back home in Mysuru. Thank you for all the wishes.