`My 17 hours at The Taj…`

Who says terror has no face? Terror has a face in all those humans who are alive to tell a tale of the brutal acts inflicted upon them. With the Mumbai siege finally over, what remains is the act of picking up the pieces.

Who says terror has no face? Terror has a face in all those humans who are alive to tell a tale of the brutal acts inflicted upon them. With the Mumbai

siege finally over, what now remains is the act of picking up the pieces. Mumbai attacks have proved that our security systems have gaps and we have failed to fill them. The horror of the act is too great to be captured in words. One such person is Alok Tomar who has penned down his painful memoirs of the terror attack at the Taj Hotel. He is one of those who have lived through the siege. A senior journalist, he encountered the terror attack in the hotel Taj’s new building The Taj Tower, where he was present. Let`s read his experience- Landing for the second time at Mumbai airport in 15 days my first plan was to visit the film city to meet one producer friend who had sent me the ticket to do so. However, you may call it a coincidence, my fate, sheer destiny or irony of the situation that his mobile was switched off and the car also didn`t come to pick me up. By chance, it happened that one of my friends, also a fellow traveller, was going to the Colaba area. So, just in order to spend time and to catch-up with old times, I accompanied him. My producer friend called me when I was already celebrating the birthday of my friend’s colleague`s son at the top floor of the New wing of Taj Hotel. `Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder` goes the saying, it proved true for me. Taj has always attracted me. I remember, this striking monument was constructed to welcome George the V nearly a century ago. On the one hand where this monument derives a wow from the hearts of many simultaneously, the prices at the famous hotel are really heart breaking. The watch displayed 9 PM but the party had not yet begun. People were getting restless, suddenly a man informed everybody that a blast has been reported at the Sasoon Dock, where I lived for a long time, and gunshots were being heard. Actually, his idea was that somehow Abu Salem has escaped from the prison though we all knew that Arthur Road was far off from Colaba. All of a sudden, everybody started getting messages on their cell phones. It was a total chaos. After sometime, we heard gunshots on the road below but saw nobody. Finally, when nothing went wrong we started partying again. Soon after, we heard sirens of police cars. We realised that something was seriously wrong when the manager came in and called off the party. Some people managed to go down through the service lift while others managed to get down through staircases. At last, we all reached the big hall where the plasma TV was still on, it was though this that we came to know about the terror attack on the financial capital of India, Mumbai. I too, like everyone else, am afraid of death. But, being a journalist, the desire to experience an adventure like this is one of my biggest fantasies. Mostly, after getting the boarding pass I subconsciously pray to become part of a hijack drama. Here too, I was just waiting to pen down memoirs of any such incident in my life and this was my chance. Although, I was frightened, I felt lucky too. I tried to move out of the hall by showing my so powerful press card but it didn`t help me as the well-built guard on the door stopped me from moving out. Subsequently we heard our manager speaking that some terrorists have come into the building and thus we must stay quietly at our respective places and if we require anything, we can call up the reception. Chargers of several models were sent in. Suddenly the TV stopped working. The response from the reception was very puzzling that there was some technical problem and the TV would be rectified eventually. By that time, we all knew that some terror groups have made their way not only in Taj and Colaba but also at Oberoi and a coffee place nearby. Some time later, the manager came with some packets of food and apologised for the inconvenience. He also assured us that our safety was his priority. Many of us wanted to smoke hence, understanding the circumstances he brought several packets of Dun Hill with him and opened the nearest room for the purpose also asserting the fact that we won`t be charged for the same. Wah Taj! Gradually, all of us were nervous and anxious as to what will happen next. However, in due course we all settled down. By that time, we understood that the TV was disconnected in order to prevent terrorists from monitoring outside activities. We all relaxed after sometime but were abruptly raised by an alarm that fire has broken in the building. Next to our room was the dome, which had caught fire. We knew that we might not be able to save our lives but who wishes to be burnt alive. Hell, we just didn`t know what to do. At 1 AM we heard sounds of gunshots and blasts from within the hotel. People who had come their to celebrate their birthdays thought that it`s their death day, now while my mind was working on a new story, many of my new found friends started telling me about their last wish. By that time, we could see the cranes. Many were even ready to pay for their lives. However, `with money you can buy your death not your life`. Time just passed on. Finally came the morning, the most beautiful morning of my life. Sun, which I used to watch everyday, unexpectedly seemed so brilliant. It was a perfect morning, a morning which lighted new horizons in my life. The hotel staff kept coming in between to reassure us of our safety. How brave of them! They also kept us informed about where the terrorists were actually hiding. In total, they were keeping us abreast with the latest news of the day. The terrorists were actually hiding in the kitchen and basement as they had planned a 9/11 for Taj by hitting the historical monument at the base. By that time our mobiles were jammed for security reasons. First time in my life, I slept sitting on the sofa. People say that habit never dies it`s true friends, later when I woke up my first urge was to read a newspaper. I simply can`t live without it. But in all this drama where would I have got a newspaper when we were the biggest news piece of the day; followed by every channel and highlighted by all newspapers though at the time the conclusion of the terror act was yet to be sketched out. Finally, after two in the afternoon the security guards directed us to move safely down the hall through the service lifts, to the narrow lanes backwards, away from the now lonely standing hotel to the BEST buses. Thank God, and more then that, thanks to the dare devil commandos, I was safe and sound. A sense of relief overpowered me on the thought that my media friends were not there or else they would have surely asked me how a newsmaker became news himself. For, which I would have replied: all thanks to the terrorists of the Mumbai mayhem……… (Alok Tomar began his early career with UNI at the age of 19. Till date he has contributed many works as a scriptwriter by being a part of NDTV (Ji Mantri Ji), Aaj Tak, Zeenews, Jansatta, Pioneer and also KBC.) Adapted by Devika Chhibber