Neeleswaram: For Sindhu Hareesh, a resident of Karattuvayal in Kanhangad who works a teacher educator at the SNTTI in Padannakkad and , the past year has been nothing short of a harrowing test of fate.

Most recently, a landslip that occured at Veermala hill the other day pushed her car nearly four metres off the road. A potential tragedy was narrowly averted as Sindhu, keeping her composure, managed to bring the vehicle safely to a halt by the roadside.

The Veermala incident marked the third time in the past year that Sindhu had a close brush with death.

Earlier, Sindhu had travelled to Pahalgam as part of a tour group, just a day before the terror attack that rocked the area on April 21. Her husband, V V Hareesh, proprietor of Swapna Enterprises in Kanhangad, and their daughter Meenakshi were with her during the trip. They returned home with memories of the serene valley, only to be met by shocking news of the attack that claimed several lives.

Another narrow escape came on the night of October 28 last year, during the fireworks tragedy at Neeleswaram’s Ajoottambalam temple. Sindhu had been standing beside the shed where six people were killed in an explosion during the Moovalamkuzhi Chamundi’s thottam ritual. She had just stepped away after receiving a call from her husband. When she tried to return to the shed, the growing crowd prevented her from getting close. The thought of what might have happened still sends a chill down her spine. "Had I made it back to the shed, I wouldn’t be standing here today," she says, wih a huge sigh of releif.

On Sunday, Sindhu and her husband visited hotel staff Rupesh and Aravind, who had rushed to her aid when she became stranded at Veermala. Grateful for their timely help, she thanked them in person.