I was driving to Washington, D.C. when the first reports of what would become a long drawn out siege began breaking on CNN; however, I didn't hear about it until my brother called me and let me know. I tried to scan the radio stations, and didn't hear a word about anything outside of the United States and the Thanksgiving traffic. Not shocking, but unsettling at the least.
I arrived at my brothers a few hours later, to settle down in front of the TV and track the events happening across the world in a city too close to home for comfort. The reports were a good reflection of the chaos on the ground. We didn't want to call home because we figured mom and dad were asleep, and didn't want to give them cause for panic. We eventually did call to start tracking all of our family and friends who may have been in Mumbai.
Now, Mumbai is a large city. Granted, most of the people we know don't live near South Mumbai where the chaos was centered. What freaked us out is that the two hotels, in particular the Taj located near the gateway of India, are frequented by local Mumbaikars - even if only to browse the oppulently laden stores, or the magnificent architecture and images from history displayed along the corridors. On my last two (short) trips to Mumbai, I went to the Taj both times and stood in the very area that the seige took place. It isn't crazy to wonder if someone we know may have been there.
Unfortunately, although Shal - who lives in Mumbai - was safely tucked away in her apartment on the other side of the city, a family friend was caught in the chaos. He was traveling with his father in India, and was staying at the Taj. They were having dinner in the restaurant, and he went to the restroom at which time he saw the gunmen in the lobby and ducked into one of the stores. Over the next several hours, he shifted from store to store and finally made it out through one of the side exits. His father, who was still in the restaurant, was ushered by the Taj staff from room to room, floor to floor, in search of safety. The two were later reunited at the Gateway of India, and moved to safety.
The mainstream news coverage has been incredibly overwhelming. But there are all these stories that will never come out as the storyline gets polished. The stories of the incredibly courageous staff of both hotels that could have fled to safety, having known the ins and outs of the hotel, but stayed back and ushered the guests that were trapped inside to safety. Many hundreds of people owe their lives to the staff of the Taj and the Oberoi - and yet, their tales of courage are unlikely to be told outside of small circles.
Biju Matthew has put my thoughts into words incredibly well, and touches on all of my concerns: that the story that comes out of this is going to be the polished version that does not do justice to the acts of courage on the day, that this seige will be an excuse for more violence, that those who have no hope or courage and have turned to violence will continue, and most importantly - that India will be forced into harsh-knee-jerk-policies similar to those adopted by the United States. The saving grace is that I have faith in Manmohan Singh, who is an incredibly incredibly intelligent man - though others may disagree.
To close my thoughts, I quote Biju:
"The human story of the innocents who died, the hotel staff who kept their cool and moved guests around the hotel through the service entryways and exits, those who helped each other escape, will not really make it to the headlines. The maintenance worker at the Oberoi who shielded guests and took the bullets in his stomach will remain unsung. The hospital orderlies who ran in and out with stretchers carrying the wounded - each time not knowing if they will make it back themselves to the ambulance, will not be noted. The several trainee chefs at the Taj who fell to bullets even as other kitchen workers escorted guests away from the firing and hid them inside a private clubroom will not be written up in the book of heroes. The young waiter at Leopold who was to leave to work in a Cape Town restaurant will soon be forgotten. The two young men who dragged an Australian tourist shot in the leg away from the Leopold entrance and carried her to a taxi will not even identify themselves so that she can thank them. These stories, in as much as they are told, will remain on the lips of only the workers, the guests and the tourists who helped each other. The officials will try and produce a clean story to tell the world. And we know the clean story is untrue."
- SamarMagazine.com
As the Fires Die: The Terror of the Aftermath
