I was one of the survivors of the blast as my house is within the temple premises. Luckily i was inside the house when the blast occurred, although our house suffered minor damages( roof, windows, doors etc).

Blast happened at 3:30 AM. There was no power and neither mobile network in our area. So we were not knowing what is happening around India. Whether the news of the blast was telecasted or not and what was the death count. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood. Political leaders from Kerala were arriving at the scene in hoards, mainly beacuse it was election time. They were roaming around in white khadis, giving interviews and blaming each other. Be it congress, or LDF.

At around 2 PM noon, I was standing outside my house. Every one had cleared the area and only Police and media were present. Suddenly I saw around 30 cars approaching the temple. Someone told us that Modi ji was coming. We were like WTH!!, PM Modi??? Here in our small town? And that too within 12 hours of the blast?

What happened next changed my outlook towards this man forever. He arrived with a team of 15 burn specialists, a navy ship filled with emergency supplies,six helicopters and one Dornier aircraft of the Navy and the Air Force to assist in the rescue operation.

He alighted from his car, and had a serious look on his face, didn’t wave at any supporters who were chanting “Modi zindabad” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai!!”. He knew that this situation was not apt for that. He surveyed the area and then I noticed it.

He had a pen and paper in his hand, writing down all the inputs. That blew us all away.

He was not a politician who had come for publicity purposes. He was actually writing down the inputs so that he could follow up on them later. He then went into his car. We all were gathered around the car waiting for him to smile and wave, but all this man did was , to bow his head and fold his hands in front of everyone. The level of maturity this guy has blew us away. He knows how to behave according to the situation.

Now people may say whats so great in that. He was on camera right?

Yes cameras were all around him, but the way he behaved at the spot was not acting. He knew how to behave in such a situation and didn’t let the camera spotlights carry him away.

This article was first published in Qoura