Heaven rains down tears on Mumbai
The Heavens rained down tears of sorrow on Mumbai on Saturday morning as the death toll from the attacks on the proud city climbed steadily.
The unseasonal rain marked the third day of the siege of the city’s landmark Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
I have spent the past three days covering the story day-and-night and sitting here in the rain on Saturday morning watching the flames pour from the 105-year old Heritage Building and listening to gunshots, I have to wonder why this has gone on for so long.
I’m sitting well back from the lobby area by the famous Gateway of India and even here occasional bullets are hitting TV trucks and whistling overhead.
When I arrived here on foot at around 1030 on Wednesday evening I certainly did not imagine I would still be here nearly 60 hours later.
During the long vigil the gunfire and grenade explosions have been intermittent with fierce gun-battles for a few minutes then long periods of silence.
As far as I have been able to tell the battles have been widely spread around the Heritage section of the hotel and the outbreak of fire have been similarly widespread.
The young face of militancy
When the first pictures of the Mumbai attackers were shown on national television, they sent a shiver down my spine.
Staring back at me from the television screen was a guy about my age, dressed in a dark T-shirt with ‘Versace’ written across it, clad in jeans, hair falling across his forehead and a blue backpack slung over one shoulder.
The first thought that struck me was “this guy should be in college right now.”
He had the look typical of any college student or young professional.
He definitely did not look capable of pumping bullets indiscriminately at innocent passers-by from an automatic weapon or hold so many people hostage at one of Mumbai’s posh hubs.
For the first time since a string of bombings over the past few months, militancy now has a definite clean-shaven, young face that does not seem to care if it is seen or heard as it appears fleetingly at the windows of a luxury hotel between encounters with commandos.
No more of the crude bomb chucking from motorbikes or the nameless and faceless shadows leaving vehicles loaded with explosives to blow up in crowded markets.
we the indian r all 2gather and we never allow any one 2 disturb u r royalty and culture, we r very devoted 2 all people who dide in tererist attack…..
The nightmare on television screens is real
Just returned from the Oberoi where hundreds are still inside – Indians, foreigners, cooks and cleaners. London in 2005, Mumbai trains 2006.
Each time I follow the same movements – learn what, locate where, retrieve family, check team, do phoners, make frantic calls with London desks.
And then reflect… strangely I was in both hotels just hours before Wednesday’s attacks.
Heavy security at the Taj in place since Islamabad Marriot bombing had just been lifted. As I entered to pick up a cake at 6 p.m., I pushed my way around a metal detector. I was in a hurry, the security guard gave me a knowing glance.
At 6:30 p.m. I was at the Oberoi – I walked in for a haircut (I have a thing for the hotel’s traditional barber shop). In the lobby two heavily decorated Maharashtra police officers chatting. One carrying a wooden baton with shiny metal tips. How odd it looked – what would it be used for I wondered… a marching band?
As I waited for an elevator down to the shop, I listened in on three French women chatting about shopping – the barber shop was its usual calm – one of the quietest places in the city – and just 15 minutes in and out.
As I made my way home through Mumbai’s insane traffic I could feel my blood pressure rising… it happens every day.
speaking from a civilian perspective, i must say i’m so disappointed in Muslims. They allow this sort of terrorism to spread throughout their commumities and do nothing but try to defend their religion after these deadly deeds are done. They condem them sure, but what do they do after the fact. Nothing! It’s the responsibility of the Muslims to control and stop this fanaticism amongst their people. To sit back and continue with their lives and cry over their youth giving their lives for some crazy group, is just a bad as picking up a gun and participating in the henious acts. There’s no way i will ever respect this Muslim religion.
“Sitting here watching the Taj burn down”
Reuters Editor, South Asia, Phil Smith is reporting from outside the landmark Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, where Western hostages are being held.
“The scene at the famous gate of India is chaos, with dozens of army, police and fire trucks struggling to control a situation which began in the late evening on Wednesday. Searchlights illuminate the front of the Taj hotel, as up to five gunmen hold hundreds of hotel guests hostage. There have been several explosions from inside the hotel and earlier, grenades were thrown from windows and exploded in the street.
“At around 3 a.m., a large explosion set fire to the top part of the building, and fires are still burning on the upper floors.
“There have been rescue attempts by firefighters with hotel guests plucked from lower floor front windows by ladder and hydraulic lift. As they fled the scene, they told how they barricaded themselves in their rooms after hearing explosions and automatic fire in the hotel. There are similar scenes across the peninsula at the Trident hotel where another siege is going one.
“As dawn approaches, the fate of the remaining hostages is still unclear.”
To listen to Phil’s audio account click here.
Lets wake up now!! First, it was Sankat Mochan at Varanasi. They tried to alter people’s faith. Then were the crowded markets of Delhi, aiming at people shopping for Diwali. They then carried a serial blasts that shook Bangalore, India’s IT hub. And now they are targeting Countries best Hotels, that too in the financial capital of India, Mumbai that affects nation’s economy.
It’s a high degree of letdown for the Indian Government being slapped away on the face by these ruthless devilish terrorist groups who are butchering innocent lives every now and then. My heart cries and my eyes get blood when I look at the pictures of the distorted human bodies on the screen of my television sitting alone in my drawing room. I feel pain and anguish deep inside my heart. Sorrily wiping tears and feeling helpless for not being able to do anything about it.
When will this bloodbath end? When can we get fresh air to breath? When can there be a day when there’s no news of ‘life’ getting challenged? Where can we find fearless time walking on the roads holding hands of our children? When can we go to places without a scare of sudden terror attack? How can we stop humankind getting victimized and falling for these gruesome acts? When I leave every morning for my College, I’m petrified whether I’ll be able to make it back to home safe today or not.
I want to ask all is it that difficult? Is it that impossible? A fist full of people ruined nation’s best hotels because of an extremely weak security lapse. It’s unbelievable to think that a population of over one billon is incapable fight back against terrorism. It is absolutely cowardly to succumb to such devastations in the country any more. The idea might sound difficult but it’s not that impossible either. A lot can be done, if we are awake within. If we bind our hearts and souls together to sweep away the dust of terrorism from the heart of our motherland. Even though it’s been 61 years of Independence, yet India is not free from the chains of insecurity and slavery of terror. Seems we are yet to see a free India…
My humble plea to my countrymen, let’s shun our selfishness and give away our ignorances. Now is the time to open your eyes. Let’s be together and join hands. Let’s do something about it before it gets too late. Let’s wake up at least NOW!!
the original blog is a poignant writeup and brings the situation at ground ZERO LIVE BEFORE OUR EYES