The Landslide

We got up at four in the morning. The kids were asleep in their beds. My wife Kiran and I got out of bed. She made me a cup of hot tea. It was too early in the morning, so I did not feel like eating. Kiran went back to sleep as I left the house after bidding me goodbye. Ramdayal and three other subedars, Mohan, Kishan, and I, were going together for an overnight trip to Kinnaur from Sangla, where we stayed in the cantonment area. Ramdayal was a lieutenant. The cantonment area was wooded and had a nice shade; it was fairly large but well-maintained. There was an auditorium where we watched Hindi movies on Saturday night. There was a large ground for parades and sports.

The day was just beginning to unfold. We left in the army jeep. We drove through the beautiful countryside for an hour toward the village of Sangla. On the way, we stopped by a dhaba on the outskirts to have some tea and aloo parathas and curd. It was a healthy breakfast. Just then we heard some screaming and a noise of falling buildings in the distance. There was a lot of smoke and dust.

We stopped what we were doing and rushed to the fallen buildings. Some houses and shops had collapsed onto the road. It was blocked. There was a man who was trapped in the debris. We freed the man from the beam under which he was trapped. We carried him outside as his leg was fractured. We set up a makeshift splint and called the ambulance to take him away. There was a lady in a saree who was trapped in the kitchen. She was shaken and bruised but not badly hurt, so we helped her outside.

Meanwhile, the disaster rescue task force had arrived, and they went about their work. A makeshift camp was set up in the school nearby. Since it was a holiday, it was closed. There were several people who had gathered there. Humanitarian aid was set up to provide them with food and water, and several beds were set up for care. Since the road ahead was blocked, we decided to abort our trip and head back home early.

My wife and kids were happy to see me back home early; it was a homecoming of sorts. We reported to our commanding officer that we could not go ahead, and he understood our situation. A whole day had been spent on our trip, and by four, it was time to break up for the day. Thus passed an unexpected day in our otherwise routine lives.