What started off as a an act of taking trapped guests to safety turned into a fight for survival for trainee Ali Haidari in the Taj Hotel after a terrorist opened fire killing many guests including his senior who was spearheading the rescue operation. Thereafter it was sheer determination and the will to survive that saw the management trainee escape from the hotel and to the safety of the police van waiting outside.
Mr Haidari, a Hotel Operational Management Trainee (HOMT) at the Taj Hotel was assisting the chefs prepare the orders made by the guests. However, after the terrorists besieged the hotel at around 10 pm, it became a duty to save the guests as well as his own life.
According to Mr Haidari, the ballroom area between the old and the new Taj had been relatively unaffected by the terrorist onslaught and hence the hotel staff had been herding the guests who had taken shelter in the lounge area towards the main kitchen from where they could go out safely.
“At around 3.45 am while the guests were passing through the corridor between the kitchen and the ballroom one of the terrorists showed up and started firing indiscriminately. At the time the other trainees and I were helping our senior to lead the guests to safety,” said Mr Haideri.
The mayhem that followed saw three guests and the senior Chef Bhanja being killed while many others were left injured. Mr Haideri took evasive action and jumped behind the safety of a hot plate unit in the corridor even as bullets flew overhead. “A bullet ricocheted from the body of the metal unit and got lodged in the wall over my head. That was how close I came to death,” said Mr Haideri.
The young trainee however, did not stay there for long afraid that the terrorist would walk down the corridor and shoot him on seeing him. “I crawled into the adjoining kitchen which was dark as the lights had been turned off. I had armed myself with some utensils in case I confronted the terrorist who I could hear was coming down the corridor,” said Mr Haideri. Luckily for the youngster the terrorist did not bother checking the kitchen.
With gunshots and blasts echoing through the hotel mingled with moans of the injured and calls for help coming from the corridor, Mr Haideri stayed in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity for him. “After waiting for 45-50 minutes,I called another senior who told me to stay where I was until help came for me,” said Mr Haideri. However, the prospect of becoming a sitting duck did not appeal to the trainee and hence he decided to venture out and escape.
“I crawled out of the kitchen watching out for terrorists. I quickly made my way to the opposite kitchen from where I went to the ballroom which was deserted except for a couple who were standing at the window waiting to be evacuated by the fire brigade. I quickly climbed down the ladder from the first floor and rushed to the police van which took us to the Taj Wellington where I met the other chefs,” said Mr Haideri. He said that the incident would always haunt him but he was just glad that he got out unscathed. “I will be working in the Taj Hotel for another four months before I complete my chef-de-partie course. I would still love to work at the Taj later on. In a way this is where I got a second chance at life,” said Mr Haideri.
Mr Haidari, a Hotel Operational Management Trainee (HOMT) at the Taj Hotel was assisting the chefs prepare the orders made by the guests. However, after the terrorists besieged the hotel at around 10 pm, it became a duty to save the guests as well as his own life.
According to Mr Haidari, the ballroom area between the old and the new Taj had been relatively unaffected by the terrorist onslaught and hence the hotel staff had been herding the guests who had taken shelter in the lounge area towards the main kitchen from where they could go out safely.
“At around 3.45 am while the guests were passing through the corridor between the kitchen and the ballroom one of the terrorists showed up and started firing indiscriminately. At the time the other trainees and I were helping our senior to lead the guests to safety,” said Mr Haideri.
The mayhem that followed saw three guests and the senior Chef Bhanja being killed while many others were left injured. Mr Haideri took evasive action and jumped behind the safety of a hot plate unit in the corridor even as bullets flew overhead. “A bullet ricocheted from the body of the metal unit and got lodged in the wall over my head. That was how close I came to death,” said Mr Haideri.
The young trainee however, did not stay there for long afraid that the terrorist would walk down the corridor and shoot him on seeing him. “I crawled into the adjoining kitchen which was dark as the lights had been turned off. I had armed myself with some utensils in case I confronted the terrorist who I could hear was coming down the corridor,” said Mr Haideri. Luckily for the youngster the terrorist did not bother checking the kitchen.
With gunshots and blasts echoing through the hotel mingled with moans of the injured and calls for help coming from the corridor, Mr Haideri stayed in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity for him. “After waiting for 45-50 minutes,I called another senior who told me to stay where I was until help came for me,” said Mr Haideri. However, the prospect of becoming a sitting duck did not appeal to the trainee and hence he decided to venture out and escape.
“I crawled out of the kitchen watching out for terrorists. I quickly made my way to the opposite kitchen from where I went to the ballroom which was deserted except for a couple who were standing at the window waiting to be evacuated by the fire brigade. I quickly climbed down the ladder from the first floor and rushed to the police van which took us to the Taj Wellington where I met the other chefs,” said Mr Haideri. He said that the incident would always haunt him but he was just glad that he got out unscathed. “I will be working in the Taj Hotel for another four months before I complete my chef-de-partie course. I would still love to work at the Taj later on. In a way this is where I got a second chance at life,” said Mr Haideri.
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