It was 8 p.m. and the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea looked calm. Heading
towards my naval base, I had one final look at the area. Some pigeons fluttered past, a policeman whistled and a hawker packed his belongings for the day. The neon-lit surrounding would now illuminate some late-night lovebirds, looking for their private space in this insomniac city. Life looked picturesque and undisturbed. Who would have known that an hour from then, death would spread its dirty tentacles, choking life out of this picture?
Who would have imagined that ten men from Pakistan would come sailing through the Arabian Sea in a small boat and would launch the most dastardly attack on the city? And hardly would have I imagined that few hours from now, I will be facing these fidayeen, inside the Taj, eye to eye, and my life would change forever.
This is my story…
NON-FICTION/TRUE ACCOUNT
26/11 BRAVEHEART: My Encounter with Terrorists
Paperback, INR 295, 208 PP
ABOUT THE BOOK
Four bullets ripped through his body; a lung was punctured; four ribs were shattered and splinters scattered all over his chest; doctors attending to him declared that his life had been cut short, that he could never swim or run. But he proved everyone wrong.
On the night of the 26/11 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy (MARCOS) entered the Taj, one of the places held captive by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Their brief was simple-rescue the hostages and neutralize the attackers. Decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for his role in rescuing hostages, Praveen Kumar Teotia was one of the MARCOS who was leading his team, who fought the terrorists, suffered near-fatal injuries and, in the end, saved more than 150 innocent lives. In this gripping, edge-of-the-seat thriller, Teotia narrates a minute-by-minute account of that deadly night, how his team entered the Taj, how he confronted the terrorists and how he was nearly killed. Declared unfit for life until he fought back and became a marathon runner and the coveted IRONMAN, Praveen’s is a story of courage, conviction and resurrection. Above all, this is the story of an Indian soldier.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRAVEEN KUMAR TEOTIA is an Ex-Marine Commando (MARCOS) who led his team during the counter-terrorist operations in the wake of the 26/11 fidayeen attack at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. He suffered multiple injuries during the operation but his quick response and counter-attack saved more than 150 lives that day. A Shaurya Chakra awardee, Praveen overcame his injury and went on to participate in several marathons and the IRONMAN championship. He is now a life coach and a physical trainer, and also gives special weapons and tactical training to state police commandos. He runs his own YouTube channel called ‘Marcos Praveen Teotia’.