How Amazon’s Shiraz and his horse saved a life in Kashmir, won millions of hearts

Srinagar: On a snowy morning earlier this week, Shiraz Ali Khan, 22, a resident of Alamgiri Bazaar in Srinagar’s downtown, received an SOS call from a customer for the delivery of an important parcel.

Since it was heavily snowing, he was curious to know about the urgency. The man on the other side pleaded that the parcel contained some emergency medical equipment for an Asthma patient.

As the roads were clogged, Shiraz was unable to ride his bike. And then his horse-riding skills came to play. Shiraz went to his stable, took out his horse and straightaway went to the man and delivered the parcel.

“I was sitting home when I received a call. Customers were pressing for delivery of goods. It was heavily snowing. But one customer persisted. He had ordered some medical equipment and he was in dire need. So I decided to deliver the packet come what may. Therefore I rode the horse to deliver the packet. Another customer had ordered some baby food and he too wanted it delivered urgently,” Shiraz told The Kashmir Monitor.

For a 22-year-old BA (final year) student, horse riding has been a passion since childhood. And with his friends Ali Abbas Wani and Farman Safvi in tow, he decided to take his passion to the next level. A few years back, he bought a 20-month-old Marwari horse and named him Smokey. Since he had no stable of his own; he used his friend’s facility to keep the horse.

“I have been a horse rider for long. It has been my passion to ride the horse. I have been going horse riding on Sundays and holidays. That is why, when someone asked for immediate delivery, I lost no time to use my skills to deliver the parcels,” he said.

Coming from a humble family, Shiraz is the youngest of three siblings. His father is a shopkeeper and his two brothers are students. “I am pursuing my BA from Gandhi Memorial College. After lockdown, I took up the job of the delivery boy to meet my expenditure. Like others, our business too suffered a setback. So I took this job.  You need money to keep the horse.  Plus I am a student and I too need money for personal expenses. This job helped me a lot,” he said.

However, little did he realize that one day this job will make him famous. “Since my video became viral, people stop by and click selfies with me. A few days ago, I was riding a horse; people stopped by and clicked pictures with me. Even my bosses called me up and praised my commitment. I am thankful to all those who posted the video on social media. I can’t ask for more,” he said.

The subtext of his passion is that he wants to create awareness about animal abuse. “ I want people to be compassionate towards animals. I want to dedicate myself to this cause. I want to go for post-graduation after my BA. Last but not the least, I want to grow in Amazon. I want to serve the company to the best of my abilities,” he said.