I was inside my room, following the developments on television and my Blackberry. My floor was on fire and I walked out of my room (#539) to another (#520). I thought I would see people like me trapped inside that room. But a terrorist was lurking there. He shot at me. The bullet whizzed past my ear. He kept shooting at me and I ran for my life, jumping over many dead bodies on the staircase.
Even as I was running away from the terrorist’s bullets, a TV channel was showing that I was dead. My family and parents back home panicked. I was in touch with them till I was fired at and suddenly they get to know that I was dead.
A few weeks later, I got a call from the Indian cops. They saw me on CCTV walking confidently with a Blackberry. My longish dark hair may have forced them to believe that I was also a terrorist. They asked a few normal questions before snapping the line.
I never dared to go back to the Taj although I have been in India many times since then. I don’t think there is anything to worry about the security situation in the country. India is a much safer place than many other parts of the world.
(Dean Kino is also a member of the governing council of CL T20)
—As told to Vijay Tagore
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