“We had just reached Pahalgam. Everything was so serene. We bought bhelpuri and were sitting in a quiet corner, soaking in the view when suddenly, we heard gunshots. People started screaming and running,” says Mihir Soni, who along with his newlywed wife Komal managed to find a corner to hide before making their way out of Baisaran — the meadow where 26 people were gunned down by militants on Tuesday.
Mihir (26) and Komal (25), residents of Jaipur, were among the many survivors who landed at Terminal 3 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday. Many others, all tourists from Kashmir who were lucky enough not to be at Baisaran at the time of the attack, also arrived at the airport, cutting short their trip.
What saved them, says Komal, was sheer luck. “We were just 10 steps away from the exit of the meadow. We hired a pony, paid Rs 4,000 and got out of there as fast as we could… On the way to Pahalgam market, there were no security personnel, there was no one to help us,” she says.
It was only when they reached Pahalgam market that the security personnel came to know about the attack, she adds.
Komal recalls that in the thick of the chaos, they had seen Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal and his wife Himanshi at the meadow. “They walked right past us. They had arrived around the same time and bought bhelpuri from the same vendor before us… We later heard that the officer was killed.”
Abhishek Kakran (33) and his family, who arrived at the airport, saw bodies being carried away in front of their eyes. They were at Chandanwari market, 2 km away from the spot where the attack took place.
“We saw bodies and the injured were being carried away… By then, news had already reached home. Our relatives had started calling but couldn’t reach us because there was no network… The market started shutting down,” says Abhishek.
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“We went on to cancel our stay. The local residents were extremely helpful – the drivers, the travel agent, everyone was there was us,” he adds.
Mohammad Ismail (40) and Ayyub Peerzade (39) from Thane, who had taken a train to Kashmir with two other college friends, say they visited Pahalgam a day before the attack.
“We were in Pahalgam till 5 pm or 6 pm. On Tuesday, while walking around Lal Chowk in Srinagar, we sensed something was wrong – shops were shutting down, people were rushing. Then we came to know what has happened… I was numb,” says Ayyub.
Showing photographs of them at the picturesque meadow, Mohammad adds, “We had taken pictures right where the bodies were found, just a day earlier…”
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Back at Srinagar airport, chaos gave way to caution. “There were long lines, so much security, even a camp had been set up outside for people to sit,” he says.
Another group who landed at Delhi on Wednesday was a family of five from Hyderabad’s Singapore Township, which had visited Kashmir as a part of a larger pilgrim group of 45. Rajita (42) describes the dual disasters that upended their trip. “We had gone for darshan at Jwala Devi temple. On the way, a cloudburst in Ramban blocked the roads. We had to spend a night on the roadside. It was tough, but we pushed through.”
“But when the news of the terror attack came, that was it… we booked our flights immediately. We had originally planned to visit Pahalgam too… now, I thank God that heavy rain stopped us from going there.”
Jyoti (43) and Sachin Garg (50), a couple from Gurgaon, were in Gulmarg when the attack took place. “We had visited Pahalgam before Gulmarg. We were lucky… But even from a distance, we felt the fear. Local residents were scared too – not just for themselves but that tourism will be affected and they will lose their livelihood,” says Sachin.
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“Despite everything, they were so kind… Many went out of their way to ensure that tourists like us got home safely,” Jyoti adds.