Too much salt in food saved Kerala family from deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Wondering how?

There's a common understanding that excessive salt and sugar can wreak havoc on health. Can you imagine an instance where too much of salt saved lives? Maybe in our wildest dreams! Well, an 11-member Kerala family that was exploring the poetic beauty of Kashmir escaped the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam just because their food was too salty. Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? 

Alby George, his wife Lavanya, their children, Lavanya’s parents, several cousins and their children arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on April 19. They spent the following two days travelling to Gulmarg and Sonmarg. On April 22, i.e., the day of the terrorist attack, the family stopped at a restaurant on the way to the Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam. 

“On Tuesday we were heading to Pahalgam, located about 80km from Srinagar. We started a bit late that morning. Since we had skipped lunch the previous two days, my husband insisted we eat before going to Baisaran”, Lavanya recalls in a conversation with Times of India. 

They ordered fried rice. However, having found it excessively salty, they re-ordered the meal, leading to an extended wait of around an hour. After having lunch, the family resumed their journey to Pahalgam. However, about two kilometres away from the meadow, they noticed something unusual- horses galloping back in panic, locals shouting, taxis rushing back in panic. 

However, they couldn’t understand the local dialect, Lavanya shared. They waved down a passing car and got to know that there was some trouble between the security forces and tourists. Their driver said that such things get resolved in no time, suggesting they continue their journey. 

However, the family chose to return, sensing there was something serious. They retuned to the valley and spent some time beside a lake. Around 4:30 p.m., they noticed shopkeepers closing early and were asked to leave due to the growing unrest in the region. Till this point, the family stayed clueless of what was going on. 

They headed to a nearby resort. Soon after, calls from concerned relatives unveiled the truth - there was a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam. “Until then, we thought it was a minor scuffle. We didn’t sleep that night”, Lavanya recalled. 

Speaking about the delay due to the salty meal, she added, “As if god himself caused it to save us”.