On Saturday evening Kiran Mutneja was leisurely shopping at Rajouri Garden's City Square mall, husband Raktein Ahmed and daughters Racha and Reema in tow.
Hard to believe, that only a couple of days ago, they were stranded in Beirut, which is being bombarded by Israeli forces.
Kiran and her family, part of the first batch of about 80 Indians evacuated from Lebanon, landed at IGI Airport on Saturday morning. She is all praise for the Indian embassy in Lebanon and Cyprus and the Indian Navy.
"We are thankful to the Indian embassies in both Lebanon and Cyprus. I have an Indian passport but my husband is a Lebanese national. Still, we got out without any hassles," Kiran said. "The crew and captain of the Indian Navy ship which took us to Cyprus were also very kind."
While most evacuees brought to Delhi on Saturday worked as labourers or technicians in Lebanon, Kiran runs her own fashion accessories and garments business and have been living there for the last 16 years.
However in the last week life had become hell for them. "We could not sleep properly due to the bombardment. My daughter Racha slept today after three days. She was scared of the bombings," Kiran said. "No food was available as the road to the supermarket was being bombed. We first thought of crossing the border to Damascus by road but it was too risky as the highway was being bombed too." This was when they were asked by the Indian embassy to evacuate the place. "We were in a hurry and could not even take extra clothes. That is why we are shopping at the mall here," she said.
{{/usCountry}}However in the last week life had become hell for them. "We could not sleep properly due to the bombardment. My daughter Racha slept today after three days. She was scared of the bombings," Kiran said. "No food was available as the road to the supermarket was being bombed. We first thought of crossing the border to Damascus by road but it was too risky as the highway was being bombed too." This was when they were asked by the Indian embassy to evacuate the place. "We were in a hurry and could not even take extra clothes. That is why we are shopping at the mall here," she said.
{{/usCountry}}Kiran and her family are now staying at her brother's place.
“We were very tense after news of the bombings and were glued to the TV till they reached here safely," her brother Vijay Mutneja said.
Kiran now hopes to go back as soon as possible. "I hope the fight ends in a month. My house, shop and dreams are all there," she said.