The Hindu Business Line : Taj family prays for its loved ones

Mumbai, Dec. 4 A week after the Taj Group of Hotels’ flagship, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, was under siege from gunmen, the hotel group held a memorial meeting to condole the demise of its 11 staff members who lost their lives in the attack.

The sombre gathering saw around 2,000 employees at Mumbai’s National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) from 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. on Thursday, to pay homage to their bereaved colleagues.

An employee from the Taj group told Business Line, “The entire family of Taj was present in the condolence meeting.

"Two halls with a seating capacity of 1,000 people were jam-packed. Families of members who lost their lives were also present.”

A prayer ceremony was presided over by representatives of all four faiths – Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Hindu, said the employee.

Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Indian Hotels Company is believed to have given a condolence message in the presence of other senior management personnel such as the Vice-Chairman, Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar, the Managing Director, Mr Raymond Bickson, and several others.

Survivors and those who had been held hostage in the Taj and Oberoi have not stopped praising the staff of the hotels that had been at the centre of the siege by the attackers last week.

Since the staff had not been trained to handle security and hostage situations, their presence of mind at the time of crisis was something that the survivors have constantly commended while speaking to the media.

In the absence of any recorded message from the Taj management, the ‘never say die spirit’ has been captured in a full page advertisement placed by the hotel group in some newspapers today pledging to restore the “Taj in all its brilliance”.

“I have held my ground as human history has unfolded in its timeless procession of laughter and tears, courage and cowardice, good and evil. I will prevail,” it said, pictured with the iconic Taj dome.