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Aanvi Kamdar was a social media content creator who used to make travel videos from her travel experiences of luxurious places, budget-friendly itineraries, cafes, etc. She posted videos on her Instagram handle (@theglocaljournal), which had over 300K followers, and her bio read, “Detective for travel, luxury finds, cafés, itineraries, tips & feels”. She was a Mumbai-based travel influencer and a chartered accountant. Previously, she worked at Deloitte. As she was known for Monsoon tourism videos, her last video on Instagram also mentioned the top five places to visit in Monsoon, which included Udaipur, Delhi, Agra, and others.
She was on a trip with seven friends, and it turned out to be a nightmare when she slipped into a gorge from the waterfalls while she was shooting a reel. The incident took place in the Raigad District of Maharashtra on Tuesday when she fell into the 300-foot-deep gorge near the famous Kumbhe waterfall at Mangao.
Immediately, Kamdar's friends told the local authorities, and action was taken. Support from the Coast Guard, Kolad rescue team, and Maharashtra State Electricity Board staff was also present to rescue Kamdar from the 300-foot-deep gorge. But the rescuer said that it was raining heavily and it was getting difficult to get her up as she suffered severe injuries. So they used a vertical pulley to get her up. The rescue operation took six hours as stones kept falling during the rescue. The rescuers used a stretcher attached to rappelling ropes to pull her from the deep gorge. They rushed her to the nearest Mangaon Taluka government hospital, but she couldn’t survive and died during the treatment, said the Mangaon police station officials.
Kamdar was highly valued because of her detective skills to find new travel places, and her followers loved her content. She also loved to make content for her followers, and on July 16, when she was shooting content near the waterfall, she slipped and died. Many Instagram users have commented, “ Was the video more important than life.” Kamdar’s death is an alarming sign for everyone that real life is more important than reel life. It’s heartbreaking to see how people forget the loss of someone’s valuable life and focus on details like “Where is the reel she was filming when she slipped?”
Travel influencers have people to manage their trips because trips can have some risks, like 27-year-old Kamdar’s trip to the waterfall. But, when it comes to the importance of our lives, we need to be cautious and aware. We should not put our lives at stake just for likes and views. Authorities have also asked tourists to be extra safe and aware during trips, especially during monsoon season near waterfalls, as it is slippery over there.
