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20 years of Mumbai floods| Harleen Sethi recalls turning saviour for some school kids: I felt I needed to protect them
As the July 26, 2005 Mumbai floods complete 20 years today, Harleen Sethi recalls the ordeal she went through on that day and how it changed her forever
On July 26, 2005, Mumbai faced one of its worst natural calamities as the floods submerged the city under water and caused massive deluge. Harleen Sethi was a teenager at that time, and remembering that day as it clocks in 20 years, the actor tells us what she was doing then and how she made it through.
“I was about 16 and had my lectures at Mithibai college. It was pouring outside and suddenly, we were allowed to leave for home. Unaware of the flood situation, I chose to go to NM college canteen to eat their Idli-Sambar which I loved. As I was eating, the water level started rising. It reached the level of the table and I stood up on it to finish my food,” she shares.
As Harleen Sethi was leaving, she met her cousin who was studying in that college and they decided to head out together. “By then, we were both waist deep in water. We decided to go to her house in Andheri East but we couldn’t find any auto, so we started walking,” she reveals, adding that it was one of the most challenging journeys she undertook.
On the way, she even turned saviour for some school kids. “There used to be a school on the way and when we reached its lane, it was flooded and there was this current in the water. The school kids were just coming out and they started flowing in water. I just instinctively went and helped the kids reach a safe spot. I felt like I needed to protect them,” she shares.
The actor reveals that it took her and her cousin about three-and-a-half hours to reach their home. “My cousin’s brother, who was even younger than us, didn't come home all night as he was stuck in his school. There was such a panic situation because no one could get through on calls too. It was quite a dreadful day,” she says, adding that there is still some trauma attached to that day. “There’s some sort of PTSD from it that every time when it's pouring and I'm crossing the sea even today, I'm always looking at the tides,” she ends.
