Too much salt can at times save lives, realises family from Kerala

KOCHI: The fried rice was too salty. So an 11-member Kerala family reordered lunch on the way to Pahalgam. That saved their lives.

Alby George, his wife Lavanya, their children, Lavanya’s parents, and several cousins and their children had set out from Kochi on April 18. After arriving in Srinagar on April 19, they spent two days exploring Gulmarg and Sonmarg.

“On Tuesday we were heading to Pahalgam, located about 80km from Srinagar,” Lavanya recounted. “We started a bit late that morning. Since we had skipped lunch the previous two days due to a hectic schedule, my husband insisted we eat before going to Baisaran, just 15 minutes away,” she said over the phone.

They stopped at a roadside restaurant. Seeing their discomfort at eating the heavily salted food, restaurant staff offered to prepare lunch afresh. So they ordered again, leading to a fortuitous wait of nearly an hour.

After eating, the family resumed their journey. But just two km from Baisaran meadow they noticed something was wrong. “We saw horses galloping back in panic and taxis rushing down the road. People were shouting, but we couldn’t understand the local dialect,” Lavanya said.

They waved down a passing car and were told there was some trouble involving the central security forces and tourists. Their driver advised continuing, claiming such incidents usually get resolved quickly. But the family, sensing something serious, chose to turn back.

They returned to the valley and spent some time beside a lake. At around 4.30pm shopkeepers began closing early and urged them to leave due to growing tension in the area. They then headed to their resort a few km away.

Soon after, calls from concerned relatives revealed the truth—there had been a major terror attack. “Until then, we thought it was a minor scuffle,” said Lavanya. “I didn’t sleep that night.”

Reflecting on the delay, Lavanya added, “It’s as if God himself caused it to save us.”