[Reader-list] First-person Account of Delhi Blast

[srirang jha]

*First-person Account of Delhi Blast*

Our Extended Family in Delhi

By Shweta & Srirang Jha

We do not have any kith and kin in Delhi. So we were always concerned about
who would come to our help in case of any crisis. But all our apprehensions
went wrong when we were hit by the bomb blast at Central Park on 13
September 2008. We reached Connaught Place around 5:30 PM that day. First we
went to Shree Leathers showroom near Regal Cinema. It was crowded with
frenzied weekend shoppers. There was no security check at the entrance. So
both of us thought what if a bomb explodes in the showroom. This thought
made us restless. So we hurriedly came out of the showroom. As our six year
old daughter Khushi is very fond of strawberry ice-cream, we went to Mc
Donald's to get a scoop for her. We ate burgers outside the restaurant. Then
we moved towards the Central Park where Khushi loves to play. Instead of
crossing the road from Palika Bazar to Central Park, we used the Metro
Sub-way.

We had walked merely a few metres inside the Central Park when we heard a
loud sound. We thought, it may be a gun shot, which was actually the sound
of the bomb blast at Barakhambha Road. As we turned behind to figure out
what had happened, there was the second blast. We started running towards
the other end of the Central Park. At the same time we were worried about a
possible blast at the other end of the Central Park. Somehow, we reached the
road and started shouting for help. Both of us were profusely bleeding. We
tried to call police help line for help. But the gentleman just disconnected
the phone after hearing about the bomb blast. As we wanted to reach RML
Hospital at the earliest, we requested the passersby to arrange any vehicle.
A police constable standing there managed to stop an auto rickshaw.

Suddenly an Indica stopped there and a young man pulled us into his car
saying it would be too late if we take the auto rickshaw. He dropped us at
the hospital in half an hour despite heavy traffic jam. He also informed us
that there was another blast in Gaffar Market. Knowing fully well, the
imminent risk ahead, he decided to help us reach the hospital. We were in
such a bad condition that we could not ask his name or say thanks to him. He
dropped us at the Trauma Centre of RML Hospital and disappeared in the
crowd.  Had he not helped us, our condition would have worsened due to
profuse bleeding.

Inside the trauma centre, the scene was terrible. Many people were brought
dead. Many others were severely hit. There was total chaos. Yet the doctors,
nurses and other staff were working like soldiers and reaching out to all
with first aid and, of course, a healing touch. So we felt a sigh of relief.
Now we were assured that we have survived. We stayed in the trauma centre
for around half an hour. There was immense pain and suffering. A senior
doctor told us to take Khushi outside the trauma centre. When we told that
both of us were injured, she told our daughter to sit on the stretcher. The
doctor was worried about psychological impact our daughter might have after
seeing suffering, pain and death. Anyway, soon we were shifted to the
emergency ward.

We could call only one of our colleagues, Ajay Chauhan before the cell phone
traffic was jammed. He, in turn, informed Prof Alok Saklani, Director of
Apeejay School of Management, where both of us teach.  He reached the
hospital in an hour. Prof Akshey Kumar, a senior colleague reached soon
after we were shifted to emergency ward. Kunal Khurana, one of our students,
saw us on the television and rushed to the hospital for our help. That was
very touching. While we had expected our colleagues to arrive, Kunal's
gesture was quite soul-stirring. He was there till midnight when we were
discharged from the hospital. Our friend Shubhankar wanted to come to the
emergency ward but the security personnel were not allowing anyone inside
the premises of RML Hospital. We were discharded from the hospital in the
midnight. While we returned home with Kunal, Ranjani took care of our
daughter.

On the second day, many of our colleagues came forward to help us. All our
students visited us with bouquets and good wishes for early recovery. Even
our plumber, washer-man, kabariwala, kiranawala and many others came forward
to extend their good wishes. We started receiving calls from our old friends
who had slipped out of touch. It was nice receiving calls from Ranvijay,
Sanat, Chetnanad, Nasiha, Firoz, Jaevd and many others. Our neighbours were
always there for help. So before our parents reached out to us, we got
incredible support from our extended family in Delhi.

The extended family all-embracing healing touch to many others on that
fateful day. Hence so many lives could be saved. Probably that is the spirit
of Delhi which attracts people from all over the country.




-- 
Srirang K Jha, Ph D
Assistant Professor,
Apeejay School of Management
Dwarka, Sector 8
New Delhi 110075
Ph. 011-32646005
Cell. 09958336918