On the 14th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, there are people who are recalling the way they were trapped. Amrita Raichand, an actress and chef, said that she and her husband Rahul Raichand were trapped within The Taj Mahal Palace during the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26. Twelve well-planned attacks in Mumbai that lasted up to four days in total shocked the nation in 2008. The Taj Mahal Palace, which faces the ocean, was one of them.
Several visitors were imprisoned for several hours during the attack. Amrita Raichand was a single among them. Amrita stated she was at the opulent hotel celebrating her birthday when the attacks happened in an interview with Humans of Bombay.
“November 26 is the day I was born. We made the decision to visit the Taj that evening to celebrate. I was hesitant to leave my 1-year-old son behind, but after my family insisted, I complied. In addition, a friend was staying at Taj, so we scheduled dinner. In hindsight, she regretted not following her instinct.
By 9:00 p.m., the actress and her husband arrived at the hotel. They heard the first round of firing as they were settling in. We heard what sounded like explosions while we were unpacking. I exclaimed, unaware of the situation, “The entire city is celebrating my birthday!” We heard the sound again after 15 minutes, but this time it sounded like gunshots. I was shocked to see bodies being rolled out from the window. We were asked to remain where we were when we phoned the receptionist. That’s what we did. One hour later, the structure was shaken by an audible noise. Chaos ensued; I overheard shouts, the dragging of people, and gunfire. We put our phones on silent and turned out the lights. However, even the silence was deafening.
Amrita remembered that when the second blast occurred, a few hours had passed and she was anxious about her son. The dome was on fire and we were enveloped in smoke when there was a second bomb right at that moment. My thoughts turned to my son at home. The towels were moist before being placed by the door. We even attempted to bust the window open but in vain. We remained there till morning broke, breathing smoke and losing heart. We flinched the light when we heard the fire brigade, and thankfully, they noticed us. Added she.
She claimed that by the time they were ultimately saved, it was already dawn. It took them an hour to climb out of the room with the help of the fire department. Despite being reunited with her kid, Amrita acknowledged that the trauma of the event persisted. Even using the restroom alone would be challenging for me. also, fireworks I’m still terrified by their loudness, she admitted. But the following year, they went back to the hotel to celebrate her birthday once more, and ever since, it has become a custom for her to pray for everyone who perished in the attack and to honor everyone who battled and overcame the terror.
Amrita is a renowned chef. However, she has starred in a couple of Bollywood movies. One of which was Ready, in which she played Asin’s friend Pooja. She then starred in Ali Fazal’s Baat Bann Gayi.
