On June 12, 2025, at about 1:30 PM IST, something very unprecedented and horrible unfolded in the skies of Ahmedabad, in the Indian State of Gujarat.

Ahmedabad is my city. My home. A place that painted in colours and vibrancy, bustling with people. But that afternoon, that heartbeat skipped.

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Air India Dreamliner AI 171–just a regular flight scheduled on a regular day, on a regular route to London, doing what thousands of planes do everyday. But then, something went terribly wrong. The aircraft sent out a Mayday call, spiralled out of control and crashed—right into B.J. medical college, 6 kilometres away from the Ahmedabad airport.

A place meant for healing, and saving lives—became a site of unimaginable destruction. 241 people on board the plane are presumed dead, except for one known survivor. And on the ground, over 75 civilians—students, staff, bystanders—were taken with it, during lunch hour at college.

It was an eruption of grief in the middle of a place filled with so many bright futures—students chasing degrees, future doctors-in-training, classrooms that turned into debris, and people travelling to pursue their dreams or carrying excitement to meet their loved ones.

The Sobering Experience

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I wasn’t there. I, like many, was at school, fortunately nowhere in the radius of the crash. But we all felt it.

I think all of Ahmedabad did. The news hit us so hard—sudden, shocking and extremely difficult to process. It was all over WhatsApp groups usually filled with cricket edits and lively jokes, and calls came from other cities to check-in on us. Safe to say that it probably broke the algorithm of every social media app.

Something in Ahmedabad’s tone…just cracked like porcelain. There was no loud public mourning. But grief doesn’t always need a face.

Instagram stories today, weren’t filled with selfies and memes—but with news flash headlines, condolence messages, and heart-breaking stories of the victims. For once, we were all on the same page—completely shaken and grounded to a bitter reality.

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A College, A Crash, and A Bustling City In Shock

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What makes this crash so darn chilling is where it landed. A medical college. A place meant to prepare young people to save others’ lives—now reduced to smoke.

It’s disturbing to picture, especially for someone like me, who aspires to become a medical student. There’s something so cruel about that. But yet, somehow brutally honest too. Because that’s what tragedy does—it doesn’t come with an invitation. It just…happens.

Ahmedabad has seen earthquakes, inflation, cyclones—but this hit different. This felt personal. For every dedicated student who walked those halls.

For every family member who waited and waited desperately for news. For every Ahmedabadi who realised, this could be their story too.

My Thoughts That Followed

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In the hours after the event, one truth was dominantly ringing in my head—life is so terrifyingly fragile. These people, on board, on the ground, they didn’t do anything wrong. They weren’t being reckless, or taking irrational risks.

They were just existing. And then….

We plan our days, pack our weeks with rigid schedules, stress over calls and texts and say “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” But what’s so sobering to digest is that sometimes, there may be no tomorrow.

So, What Now?

Yes, we move forward—but not without memory. Not without honouring those innocent lives. Not without asking ourselves what we truly are doing with the time we do have.

Tell people you love them. Take that crazy, carefree photo. Laugh till your cheekbones hurt, and till your belly twists in laughter. Don’t wait for a tragedy to remind you what matters the most.