Mumbai: For Bharat Gujjar is was a close shave. He is one of the unsung heroes. He survived the attack on 26/11 narrowly, but at the same time his presence of mind help saved several other lives.
Recalling the sequence of events when a group two Pakistani fidayeens launched the attack at the Leopold Cafe at Colaba, one of the place which was targetted during the November 26-29, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Gujjar said that it was a harrowing experience.
Gujjar, a resident of Colaba in south Mumbai, is a kitchen supervisor at the famous rendezvous point of the foreigners, however, on that ill-fated night; he was at the billing desk. "I was getting a bill prepared, and I heard a noise. Initially we felt that it was a sound of explosion and was coming from the kitchen side, but then we heard a rattling sound. It was gun shots," he said.
"That moment," he said: "I realized that there was some sort of an attack. People were screaming and running helter skelter. No one seemed to be sure as to what exactly has happened, whether it was a firing incident between two groups or some kind of an attack."
When the attack intensified, a grenade fell near Gujjar and exploded. "I got shrapnels in my abdomen and could feel the blood," he said, adding that it was then when he shouted and asked whosoever was there inside the room to hide below the tables. "I myself got below a table and caught the hand of another Leopold employee and asked him to be below the table," he said.
"For five to seven minutes, the firing was on," he said. Later when things settled, he was rushed to the St George Hospital, where he was operated upon and later taken to the Sir JJ Hospital. "I was discharged after a few weeks," he adds.
"That moment," he said: "I realized that there was some sort of an attack. People were screaming and running helter skelter. No one seemed to be sure as to what exactly has happened, whether it was a firing incident between two groups or some kind of an attack."
When the attack intensified, a grenade fell near Gujjar and exploded. "I got shrapnels in my abdomen and could feel the blood," he said, adding that it was then when he shouted and asked whosoever was there inside the room to hide below the tables. "I myself got below a table and caught the hand of another Leopold employee and asked him to be below the table," he said.
"For five to seven minutes, the firing was on," he said. Later when things settled, he was rushed to the St George Hospital, where he was operated upon and later taken to the Sir JJ Hospital. "I was discharged after a few weeks," he adds.
