Click to play videoMumbai: Much like the police personnel and NSG commandos, a few civilians also took charge to help many guests trapped inside the Taj Hotel to escape unhurt.
A certified merchant marine Captain Ramesh Gulati and his new found friend South African security guard Faisul Nagel were strangers when they first came face to face on Wednesday night. Both of them helped nearly 140 people to escape from the hotel.
Gulati and Nagel were on the 19th floor of the hotel's new wing on 26/11. Gulati was at the Rendezvous Lounge while Nagel was eating dinner at the restaurant next door.
“We heard a big bang. We though there is something funny going on here,” says Nagel.
Nagel directed everyone from the restaurant into Rendezvous.
“Doors opened both ways, so we locked them and we barricaded them and furniture on the top of them just to seal that part of the room,” Nagel adds.
They dim the light and everyone was instructed to keep quiet, put the mobiles on silent mode and wait. They had no idea that the terrorists were just one floor below them.
“Everybody knew only little information which I think was a blessing in disguise,” say Crystal Shipping Co chairman Capt Gulati.
Captain Gulati's wife sent messages, but even she was wary of giving out all the details that was playing out on news channels.
“They didn’t know about the carnage that was taking place in the rest of the cit. My husband is a heart patient, I couldn’t even tell him everything because of the fear of his health,’ says Gulali’s wife Aishwarya Gulati.
“We could hear the blasts, we could hear the grenades falling. I told them that this is something very serious so don’t be in a hurry and don’t panic to go out. So, please stay calm and be prepared if you have to stay until morning,” says Capt Gulati.
“We didn’t want males and females together because husbands and wives were together and if someone panics you’ll find that the husband will push someone but takes his wife so we separated them. We asked them to take off shoes, be quiet while going down, we got a route that is clear. Don’t panic, focus on taking one step at a time and we all moved as a group,’ says Nagel.
After six hours, everyone inside the restaurant made it out safely. Some revealed their horror tales to the press, but Gulati knew better just incase the terrorists were watching them on TV.
Perhaps Capt Gulati and Nagel may never meet again, but the day they first met will remain etched in their memories forever.
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