Prasanna Kumar Bhat

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 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. 🙏

#Pahalgam #PahalgamTerrorAttack

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