When the waters came rushing in: Asr Bhat

If I had slipped from the rooftop that day I would not have been alive to tell the today. When the floods hit Indira Nagar on the night of September 6, there were announcements from the mosques asking people to shift to the second floor. I moved up with my grandparents and our domestic help (My parents live in Dubai). The water was rising constantly and by 2 a.m. had entered our home and the first floor.

As the waters rose, so did the anxiety. My grandmother's sugar level was dropping and there was nothing to eat by a toffee in my pocket. I gave it to her to stabilise her sugar levels. We had to get out fast. I found a ladder and climbed up to the attic. I first helped my grandmother, then grandfather, then our help. By the time I clambered up, the second storey too had been submerged. There were four of us in the attic with just a bottle of water between us.

It was suffocating. My grandfather, a heart patient, had serious palpitations. I was wondering what to do when an idea struck me – I smashed the ceiling with my hand and reached the roof to shout for help. I was in great pain because I had suffered a fracture in the left wrist.

As I looked around, there was water all around. And no sign of life. My grandfather's condition was worsening; he was feeling claustrophobic but could not climb to the roof because of his knees. Despite the fact that I was in immense pain, I pulled him up so he could get some fresh air.

But staying for long on the rooftop was fraught with danger. Shifting him was my next goal. But how did one do that? I broke the wooden planks of the attic and joined them together to connect with the neighbour's house. But it was not safe. Nonetheless, I took my chances and helped my grandfather cross. My grandmother and our help followed.

That was not the end of our travails. My uncle, aunt and cousin were trapped in another house close by. I somehow managed to jump into their house and took them out, one by one. It was, however, our neighbour who most desperately needed my help. Six people, including his wife who suffers from depression, were stuck there. It was time again to cross the rickety wooden ramp. But the wife refused to move out. I had to counsel her for quite a while before she agreed. It was difficult for her to cross because she is a bit overweight but I managed somehow. Thank god!

I rescued more than 10 people in all. Frankly, I don't know from where I got the courage. All the while, I was also in immense pain because of the fracture. Moreover, I also had a migraine.

We took shelter in a neighbour's house for two days. We did not eat for those two days. On the third day, a boat came. My grandmother, the neighbour's wife and I were ferried in the first round. Our boat was about to capsize because the aunty was unable to balance. I was groaning in pain but had to step in again. I grabbed high-tension electric wires to balance the boat.

"You are so small and you saved people like us," the neighbour uncle told me, scarcely able to believe that he was alive. I replied that it was my duty. People in my locality praised me because I was the only girl on the rooftop in the locality trying to help people.

Actually, I am a taekwondo player and have played the nationals. I am also a guitarist and rapper of my school. However, this was all before the floods hit the valley.