CHENNAI: Vijayakumar, 64, and his wife Usha Devi, 59, are in a rare mix of relief and tension. Relief because they are with their daughter; tension because they find themselves in a war zone. The couple from Thiruvananthapuram had travelled to Israel last month to spend time with their daughter Anagha, who is pursuing her PhD at Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv and are now stuck in raging war after Palestinian militant groups unleashed aerial attacks on Israel on Saturday.
Their neighbourhood was relatively peaceful, and Vijayakumar, who has high blood pressure and a prostate problem, stepped out with his wife and Anagha’s classmate Manoj Shanmugasundaram on Monday to buy medicines. “We were at a bus stop when sirens went off,” Vijayakumar told TOI over phone from a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. They ran into an apartment complex, but the gates were closed. “There was nobody there and we waited in the corridor for a while before going back to the University where we were living with our daughter,” said Usha. “The university gates were also closed, and the security personnel had moved into the bomb shelter. We called the security and waited outside. We could hear explosions. Those were some tense moments.”
The couple were supposed to return to India on Sunday. Since Air India cancelled its flights, they got stuck in Israel. “Here the roads are empty. We have seen such attacks on television, this is the first time we are seeing it in real life. Our daughter is breaking down thinking about our safety,” said Usha Rani.
Vijayakumar said he is in dire need of medicines. “Unlike in India, here it’s difficult to get medicines. When I called the Indian embassy here, the response was poor as they themselves are in bunkers. It would be great if some Indian association in Israel gets me medicines,” said Vijayakumar. Manoj Shanmugasundaram, who shares the shelter space with Anagha’s family, said the neighbourhood was silent till Sunday, the attacks started on Monday. “We were all shaken by what has been happening since then,” he said.
Eswaran Lakshmanan from Palani in Tamil Nadu, who is doing his post-doctoral fellowship in a university in Kiryat Ono in Tel Aviv, told TOI how he saw missiles from their balcony. “I have been here for the past four years. In 2021, there was a similar situation. But it came under control in a week. Now I am in a bomb shelter,” he said. “We felt vibrations of explosions. Our Israeli professors call us and check about our condition regularly. My parents want me to return, but I am just assessing the situation,” he said.
Their neighbourhood was relatively peaceful, and Vijayakumar, who has high blood pressure and a prostate problem, stepped out with his wife and Anagha’s classmate Manoj Shanmugasundaram on Monday to buy medicines. “We were at a bus stop when sirens went off,” Vijayakumar told TOI over phone from a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. They ran into an apartment complex, but the gates were closed. “There was nobody there and we waited in the corridor for a while before going back to the University where we were living with our daughter,” said Usha. “The university gates were also closed, and the security personnel had moved into the bomb shelter. We called the security and waited outside. We could hear explosions. Those were some tense moments.”
The couple were supposed to return to India on Sunday. Since Air India cancelled its flights, they got stuck in Israel. “Here the roads are empty. We have seen such attacks on television, this is the first time we are seeing it in real life. Our daughter is breaking down thinking about our safety,” said Usha Rani.
Vijayakumar said he is in dire need of medicines. “Unlike in India, here it’s difficult to get medicines. When I called the Indian embassy here, the response was poor as they themselves are in bunkers. It would be great if some Indian association in Israel gets me medicines,” said Vijayakumar. Manoj Shanmugasundaram, who shares the shelter space with Anagha’s family, said the neighbourhood was silent till Sunday, the attacks started on Monday. “We were all shaken by what has been happening since then,” he said.
Eswaran Lakshmanan from Palani in Tamil Nadu, who is doing his post-doctoral fellowship in a university in Kiryat Ono in Tel Aviv, told TOI how he saw missiles from their balcony. “I have been here for the past four years. In 2021, there was a similar situation. But it came under control in a week. Now I am in a bomb shelter,” he said. “We felt vibrations of explosions. Our Israeli professors call us and check about our condition regularly. My parents want me to return, but I am just assessing the situation,” he said.
