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When such a life-changing experience happens, you sit back and question your entire life. I celebrated my 69th birthday last month. I’ve seen it all: God has given me a wonderful family, a terrific career, success beyond anything I could ask for. What more can I ask for?” asks superstar singer Udit Narayan, who had a miraculous escape on Monday, January 6, when a part of his apartment block was engulfed in a fierce fire.
“Now when you have called I can speak about it. But yesterday, I was numbed by our narrow escape. The fire was so ferocious that I wonder how we escaped. It was God’s blessings and the goodwill that I’ve collected over the years which spared our lives,” says Udit, one of the humblest entertainers of Filmistan, on Tuesday evening when I catch up with him.
Reliving the nightmare of the night before Udit says, “The fire broke out in the home of kind neighbour Mishraji in the B-Wing.It was a short circuit in the air conditioner. We stay in the A-wing. In no time at all we could see balls of fire emanating from B-Wing with the fire threatening to engulf our Wing.”
There were complications in a quick escape from the fury of the fire. “You see, I have a 108-year-old mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi, staying with me. My wife and I, plus the two in-house helps couldn’t just run down. It took us nearly four hours to carry my mother down. Plus, there were three dogs.”
That Udit was a canine-lover came as news to me. “No, no, they are my son Aditya’s dogs. He loves them. He lives just opposite to our building with his wife and daughter. The housing arrangement suits all of us. Anyway, Aditya’s dogs stay with us. Back in my young days in the village, we would play with the dogs on the streets but never bring them home. Now of course, they are part of the family, and their safety during the fire was imperative,”
Luckily for Udit and his family everyone was safe. “I don’t know how we did it. But all of us were on the ground floor in the compound, just staring in shock at the leaping fire wondering what powers left us unscathed and grateful to God for sparing us. Through you, I want to tell all my fans and well wishers that we are safe. Please pray that we never have to go through something like this again.”
Udit says this traumatic incident only confirmed what he already know. “Every day, every moment of life is precious. Live your life to the fullest, and never hurt anyone intentionally. Good karma helps you during difficult times.”
