The Hindu Business Line : Coming to terms with terror

Mumbai, Nov. 30 The otherwise glittering Taj Mahal hotel looked desolate and lonely on Sunday evening, a day after the terror-siege on it was brought to an end by the country’s elite commandos.

All day, Mumbaikars visited the iconic Taj and Oberoi hotels to light candles and pay tributes to those who fell victims to the gun-totting terrorists. Hundreds of people who would have otherwise spent their Sunday evening out with their families and friends at the Gateway of India, opposite the monumental Taj building, were there instead to gaze at the terror-scarred building from the distance of a security cordon.

Similar scenes were witnessed in front of the popular restaurant Leopold, the first place to be hit by the gun-men on the fateful Wednesday night. People queued up in front of a white-paper stuck on the wall to write tributes to the departed ones. “We will fight terror on your behalf”, “You were all great people Sweetie, Annie, Laxmi, Rajan”, read some notes on the wall.

Mr Farhang S. Jehani, the co-owner of Leopold Café, was all set to open his restaurant by midday on Sunday. But the media frenzy, sloganeers and the general public who thronged his restaurant forced him to postpone the reopening to another day.

“The police could not send the required protection to the restaurant as they had to be at the other sites. And the frenzy outside was getting out of hand. We were scheduled to open at 12 in the afternoon today, but with the people walking in and out of the restaurant like it was a tourist site we had to pull down our shutters immediately,” said Mr Jehani. And policemen from the Colaba Police Station from across the road had to be rushed in to control the situation.

Mr Jehani said he will be meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Colaba area on Monday to see when he can open his restaurant. “If we do not open by tomorrow then we will definitely open by Tuesday and will be in full swing slowly but surely,” said a rather frazzled Mr Jehani.

With the 60-hour siege coming to an end, the road leading to the Hotel Oberoi-Trident had people filing by, looking at shattered window panes and cleaning staff at work inside. Even the obscure narrow lane in front of the Nariman House, saw people jostle with the anxious crowd and media as a team of Israelies visited the place. The visitors, guided by the Israeli Embassy staff, declined to speak to the media.