Page 14 - English Class 08

Krimali Joshi was brimming with excitement. At 17, she had completed her schooling in

Bhuj, and would attend an interview for a salesgirl’s position. She left her family’s apartment
that morning, pleased with her green and yellow flowered outfit but felt something wasn’t
quite right about her hair. She returned home, removed her shoes and left them at the door.

Moments later an explosive, loud noise deafened her. Then everything began crashing
down. When it was over, the floors of the four storey building had crunched downwards, in
some cases making massive concrete sandwiches that crushed the people caught inside.

Walls were peeled away so that remains of
rooms stood gaping open.

Krimali and her immediate family escaped
serious injury but could not make their way
through the sharp edged chunks of concrete
around them.

A huge concrete slab, the ceiling of an entire
room stood above the only escape route. It

hung at a 45 degree angle, completely detached
on three sides. The monestrous slab could drop
without a seconds warning.

‘People were screaming and didn’t know
what to do,’ Krimali says. That’s when she
decided to act.

With no shoes on her feet, her legs bare,
she climbed up and down the debris till she was

just beneath the swaying concrete slab. Four to
five metres below were uneven chunks of
concrete, broken glass and smashed furniture
all edged with sharp spikes of iron rods.

But, if she could manage to get down to that round level, she could make her way to
safety. She paused to figure the best way down. There wasn’t any good place to jump.

Krimali thoughlessly jumped.
She landed in a couch, her feet missing any sharp edges. Encouraged by her good

forturne, she knew it was up to her to persuade others to follow.

Krimali planned to rescue her family first, but heard a woman from an apartment two
storeys above screaming for someone to save her baby. ‘Throw the baby to me’. Krimali
shouted ‘can catch her!’

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