This is my story.

Aishwarya Khubchandani
Nov 7 · 6 min read

“Everything happens for a reason” “This is God’s way of testing you” “It only gets better from here” “Just have faith”

But how could I?

While my parents were on their way home from a function, I was home alone with the help. I was in my room, at my study table, studying for my upcoming SATs. It was a regular Tuesday afternoon. Suddenly, I heard this rumbling sound. At first, I brushed it off as I had been hearing a lot of it lately due to the repair of a pillar in my building. But this time, it was a lot louder. The building shook, and the floor below my feet started to vibrate. Terrified out of my senses, I rushed to my window, only to see two watchmen and a resident of my building running towards the gate. It looked like there was smoke everywhere. Without a second’s thought, I called my mother, and frantically described what I saw and shot haphazard details of what I feared had happened. I was scared. I was flustered. I was alone. And before I could even finish explaining everything I’d seen, she said, “LEAVE. RIGHT. NOW.”

I grabbed my laptop, slipped on an old pair of shoes and bolted right out the door. I remember the rest as though I was in a scene from the movie 2012. There was dust everywhere. As soon as I opened the door, it was all over my eyes, nose and mouth. Everyone was screaming in panic as they called out for their family members. My neighbors were already on their way down the staircase full of rubble. My heart started to beat faster, as I shut the door and descended cautiously down the uneven staircase that had no wall on its side.

I sprinted out the gate to see the other side of the building. It was so hard to believe what I saw in front of my eyes. The entire section above the freshly repaired pillar had fallen to pieces, and the rest of the wing had collapsed by one floor.

I had never fathomed experiencing a calamity. I had never fathomed needing to run for my life. And most of all, I had never fathomed doing anything like this alone. At that point, all I wanted was for my parents to reach soon. All I wanted was for them to tell me that everything was going to be okay. And while I waited for them, hundreds of strangers gathered around the building even before the police or the fire brigade reached to rescue the remaining residents stuck in the collapsed wing. Random pedestrians tried to comfort me as they saw me trembling while I stared at the catastrophe.

The next couple of hours felt like forever. Every second was filled with more pain and more questions. Every second was filled with more panic. Unfortunately, a ten year old girl, Mahi, did not survive the disaster. She was stuck under the debris for over 3 hours and died due to suffocation. That. That was the cost of the negligence of the contractor working on the pillar. He was arrested for the same, but one thing we cannot get back is her life. Houses can be rebuilt, but a life cannot. We all keep her soul in our thoughts and pray that her family heals.

a section of the building collapsed completely and rubble fell onto the staircase
a section of the building collapsed completely and rubble fell onto the staircase
The collapsed section of the building on September 24th, 2019.

No one slept a wink that night. Even though we were all extremely grateful that we got out of the building safely, as soon as the 54 of us found shelter and laid down in bed, it sunk in that we were all homeless. To make matters worse, it rained and thundered like never before in Bombay. We were all afraid of what its impact on the already damaged building would be. It felt straight out of a movie; life threatening incident followed by dramatic rainfall, leaving all the characters in despair.

Regardless of the circumstances, my parents encouraged me to go back to living my life like a normal 15 year old — worrying about school, training hard on the squash court, and wondering how my sweet sixteen was going to be. Gradually, I started to ease back into it by going to school, training tirelessly, and talking to my friends.

With the Junior Nationals only a few weeks away, I took to heart its importance and tried entering a squash court. However, the moment I stepped into one, my feet started to shake like leaves as I was instantly transported back to the moment the building crumbled down. I tried to study, but I couldn’t stop worrying about what would happen next for my family and me. I was also concerned about my parents’ health, as it looked like it was starting to take a toll on them. My Father stood at the building for more than 12 hours a day, trying to sort matters with the police. My distraught and stressed Mother tried to divert herself from the pain by going on a house hunt in the vast city of Mumbai, and saw over 10 houses a day.

At such a point in time, we learned the value of friends and family. My aunts and uncles came to our building everyday to help us out with resolving issues and gathering bags in case of evacuation. We were all wearing borrowed clothes for a week. My friends and their families were extremely supportive and heartened me more and more each day. My teachers and coaches motivated me to get back to studying and training to achieve my goals. And after everything that had happened, I was inspired to work harder than ever.

me along with firemen and policemen sharing my birthday cake
me along with firemen and policemen sharing my birthday cake
Celebrating my 16th birthday with firemen and policemen outside the collapsed building at midnight. (30th Sept)

Picture this: I spent my “sweet sixteen” standing below my window with my arms wide open. Out come pouring clothes and books which once resided in my room, while my parents salvaged all they could in the limited amount of time they were allowed to enter the house. And to be honest, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The happiness, the relief, the hope we all felt was worth it all in the end.

While I was still on the journey to adjust back to my regular lifestyle, I went to Calcutta to train. During that week, coaches and players alike would tell me that I was not able to play like my usual self. But I hoped that once I would go to Chennai, be in the competitive atmosphere, and around my friends, I would be able to zone in to the right frame of mind to play well.

Before you know it, a week has passed and I’ve jumped onto a flight to Chennai for the junior nationals. I didn’t feel ready at all after everything that had happened in the past month: I had a severe wrist injury which kept me away from squash for three weeks, and right when I had started to play, the building collapse disturbed me too much mentally to even think of touching my racket for another week. Apart from that, I was traveling without my main support system — my parents — for the first time ever.

Me with my winner’s trophy
Me with my winner’s trophy
In Chennai, on 22nd October, 2019.

With every match, I toiled hard to earn every point and came out victorious. I am so grateful that I managed to win my first ever national title even after everything I went through. To me the victory wasn’t the national title (of course, that made it a lot more special); but it was the fact that I could muster the courage to play the tournament and eventually emerge victorious. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right? I then found out what my winning combination was and always has been: entering the tournament environment, and surrounding myself with my uplifting and understanding friends.

A BIG thank you to all those who have been there for me.
~You know who you are~

Everyone has a story. This is only the beginning of mine.

#ItsMine

All the love,
Aishwarya ❤

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade