Pune: As he turned and left the self-
service counter of German Bakery, holding a coffee tray to
join his fiancee Amrapali at the table, a loud explosion and
dark smoke blurred his vision.
It took a while for Vilas Shigvan to sense the
situation and he frantically rushed towards his girl who was
lying on the floor of the eatery with serious injuries.
With his head spinning after banging against the
falling debris, Vilas mounted Amrapali on his shoulders and
ran out to look for help as utter chaos prevailed on the
bustling North Main road strewn with severed limbs of victims'
bodies.
In absence of any conveyance, the young man started
taking desperate strides towards the Budhrani hospital in the
vicinity in a scene that seemed to be carved out of a movie.
He stopped one rickshaw on the way but found another
injured being carried in it. Finally another rickshaw obliged
him and Amrapali was taken straight to the hospital and
admitted.
With both their cell phones lost in the blast, he used
the hospital phone to contact relatives who reached the
hospital, at times, driving over footpaths to save time.
Vilas, though happy that they both survived the
ordeal, still has haunting memories of raised hands of
helpless victims lying on the street, waving to catch
attention and taken care of.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 15, 2010, 19:34