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Prayer, Pain & Pride

I write this blog on behalf of my good friend and colleague – Rajamohan K who is just back home from Nepal. Raj went on a pilgrimage trip to Nepal. On the morning of 25th April, Raj and his friend passed by the Dharahara tower, decided not to climb the tower but visit the temples first.

After visiting the Bholenath and Swayambhunath temple, Raj reached the famous Pashupathinath Temple. With him was a taxi that he had hired for the day. After a peaceful darshan as Raj made way to his taxi …  and then there was a flutter in the air …. hundreds pigeons took off signally something was amiss …. then came the howling of the dogs on the street … within seconds the earth shook…. violently and for time which seemed like eternity ….

Raj ran …. and as he ran …. he saw 4-5 storied buildings around him collapse like a pack of cards ……. with a neighborhood reduced to a rubble … Raj found the courage to summon his wits … he asked his taxi driver to head to the airport ….

The first thing Raj told me on coming back was …. ‘Lord Pushupatinath saved me for had I been at any other place, I would not have survived ‘ The power of prayer saved Raj.

The ride to the airport was a tough one … every street corner was a scene of death and destruction.  There was helplessness all around , no water, no food … money or cards really could not buy anything …..

The next thing Raj told me was of pain,  he was back safe … but was scared to even take a bus to his hometown in Kerala …

The airport was shut down , the last flight to take off was a Jet Airways plane which was already on the tarmac. Raj hung around at the airport and with him was his taxi driver. Within hours 2 huge airplanes  made a noisy landing ……. the Indian Air Force had just  landed … 3000 commandos, NDRF teams  and along with plane load of equipment for rescue … and more planed kept coming every hour. Indian Air Force personnel also provided much needed food and water and assured all those stranded that evacuation would begin on Sunday.

The Nepali taxi driver took Raj home …. gave him a jacket to keep warm and shared his family dinner …. As night fell the driver and his family slept out on the streets and Raj slept in the Maruti taxi …. Next morning … Indian rescue teams were in almost every part of Kathmandu. Raj reached the airport and managed to get a ticket on an Air India flight …. then a second earthquake struck and the entire crowd at the airport ran on to the tarmac…. Raj’s flight was now cancelled …. no food … no Water ….. no Flight ….



Evening came with some hope … IAF announced evacuation….. while other countries gave first preference to their own citizens … IAF announced that they will not discriminate …..

Soon Raj found himself on a IAF plane with no seats and with citizens from all around the world.



On arrival at Delhi, Raj has mapped to a caretaker from Karnataka Bhavan who arranged for his stay and food at Delhi. Early next morning the caretaker called Raj to inform that his flight to Bangalore has been arranged …. Raj took the flight and made home safe…

The last thing that Raj told me was ‘I have never felt more proud as an Indian’ …

Mahatma Gandhi once said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Like Raj, Bapu too would be proud of the work being done by India in Nepal.

@VivaShastri

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