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A pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar turned into a terrifying fight for survival for 21 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu after flash floods and mudslides struck Nepal. What ultimately helped several members of the group escape a dangerous muddy slope was something as ordinary as a saree.

The pilgrims were travelling through the flood-hit mountain region of Timure when heavy rain triggered a sudden surge of water, mud and debris. Their vehicle narrowly escaped being swept away, leaving the passengers with little choice but to scramble towards higher ground.

Survivor Sivaranjani described just how close they were to disaster. “If our vehicle had gone five feet this way or five feet that way, we would definitely have been swept away. I have to say that God saved us by five feet,” she recalled.

She said the group was able to escape because the vehicle reached a turning where floodwater moved in another direction. “Luckily, on our right side, by Lord Shiva’s grace, we were led towards a turning,” Sivaranjani said, explaining that the flooded area around the Indian Embassy checkpoint left them with only a narrow escape route.

Once they reached a muddy incline, several women struggled to climb to safety. Ratnakumar and his wife Poonguzhali, from Mayavaram, stepped in to help. Ratnakumar returned to the dangerous area and used Poonguzhali’s saree as a makeshift rope, pulling stranded women up one by one while she helped from higher ground.

“Using a saree tied securely as a makeshift rope, Ratnakumar lifted and pulled the stranded women up the slippery embankment one by one, with Poonguzhali assisting from above,” Sivaranjani said.

She added, “Everyone who climbed up out of fear for their lives would be reluctant to come down again, but he went back.” In an emotional tribute, she said, “At that moment, they seemed like Parvati and Parameswara to us. We prostrated before them in gratitude.”

The pilgrims spent nearly two days in difficult mountain conditions with limited food and water before rescue teams evacuated them. Indian Embassy officials and Tamil Nadu authorities coordinated the operation, with the survivors eventually returning safely to India.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Sivaranjani said, “By Lord Shiva’s grace, our vehicle took a turn into a small gap and spared us. God saved us by five feet.”