This is the letter I received from Rahul, a survivor of Mumbai's 11/26

hi reshmi

am fine with the blog post. i sent this mail to a few people and its spread like a big time viral. so many people called and wrote to me. people i dont know. the news papers have printed it i believe though i havent seen since i live in singapore. am glad to have
made a positive difference and shall go on. will be in touch.

take care

Rahul

Please read, a mail forwarded to me from my friend of a survivor's first hand account of the night of terror

My friend Simmi kindly forwarded me this as my husband belongs to the same company that Rahul works for. I am totally overwhelmed by the message on his mail that I feel like saving it for posterity..and what better form than a post on my blog.

I will send Rahul an email asking him for permission, of course....

Please read on....and be touched...



From: rahul welde
Sent: Wed Dec 03 15:48:48 2008
Subject: Lucky to have survived ; Living in good shape




My heartfelt thanks to you for your support and wishes during the horrific experience. I havent yet had a chance to connect with everyone and hence this bulk mail - this is so not my way of doing it. My apologies for that.

I want you to know that this is NOT a mindless forward but a straight message from someone you've known.

I wont go much into details of what happened that night. To cut the long story short - I was holed up in my room at the Taj hotel the fateful night of the terrorist attack. Managed to escape by the skin of my teeth at around 4 am - in sheer denial of allowing fire and smoke to swallow me. By gods grace I managed to make the run down 6 floors and some few metres without the devil in my way. You can imagine how happy I am to be here typing this away. ( For anyone who wants to know the gore - let me know. I have the full story and transcripts of my SMSes recorded for posterity - to keep my anger burning and reminding me of my purpose)

I thought I'd leave a few messages which might be of help to all good people.

In the modern day world, risks are a plenty. Terrorists, tsnunamis, earthquakes - the list can go on. None of these check on your profile, company, religion, class or seniority when they hit. They just hit. And we know now it can happen anywhere. Here are a few things we could all do to keep it safer and better.

Firstly, value your family and friends. Two things I strongly recommend you check on
1. Make sure you are covered well by insurance. Even if you are well off - leave them better off if the unfortunate were to happen.
2. Let them know details on things like bank accounts, investments etc. Keep a folio with your spouse and close family.
3. Use every waking moment to cherish what you have - family, friends, nature. Stay smiling, laughing and caring.

Admittedly these arent things I thought about deeply till now. I shudder at the thought of what if.

Lets move from the philosphical to the more practical.

There are a few lessons that I want to share

1. When in a hotel or a new place - please NOTE where the FIRE EXIT is. The fire exit route saved my life. I had no clue of where it was and why I ran where I did. Why I turned left or right. Providential escape for me - nothing more. I've stayed in hotels for years and dont remember ever paying attention to this. Its a few seconds invested that can save you from big trouble.
2. Insist on taking a room in the outer periphery - where the fire brigade can reach you. My room was on the inside and I tell you what - there was no chance the fire brigade would ever reach me. They would have always been a few yards but several hours away. Ever thought of this detail.
3. A key item on your survival kit is your cellphone. I give it to Apple for developing the Iphone - a real smart gadget. Whatever your phone - a critical checkpoint is battery life. Often we wait for battery to go down before charging. Dont ! Keep it full charge all the time. All the SMSes saved my senses and maybe even my life.
4. I learnt for the first time that when running through fire and/or smoke - run bending down and wrap a wet blanket around. I did that thanks to a friend who advised me. Its a different story I chucked the blanket thinking that the cops would gun me down mistaking me for a terrorist. Good tip nevertheless.
5. Dont miss the aspect of staying fit - in running shape. Can help you and maybe even you can help someone.


Last few days I have heard/read a lot about peace marches and candles and politician bashing and police bashing and whatever else. I am sure a lot of energy will go in all that. Having been there I can only say that every soul - the cop, the fireman, the medico and even the common man on the street was doing the best he could. I dont blame anyone. I am sure good will prevail over evil in the long term. The short term blips we cannot avoid.

I have a lot to say and yet not much more. God is the greatest and leads to the ultimate destiny. I am thankful for all that has been and all that there is now.

Happy to be writing to you and wishe you and the family best for times ahead.

Am sure we will be in touch. Till then.

Regards

Rahul


ps : feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find the message useful to know.

The way we were.....before 26th Nov 2008, could we have that back????

The way we were...happy, secure and not a single worry line on my forehead. India was not just the place I called home but the place I felt most secure. Walking in the night all alone was a walk in the park for me.

Then 11/26 happened. And with it, the weight of the helplessness left by the hideous acts of terrorism. The sheer ignorance acts that cost innocent people their lives.

How many more random acts of cowardice await our shores?

My heart bleeds and breaks.....