One big crisis,many helping hands and samaritans

“It was a daunting task,” Iyer says. “I had to tell one that a relative’s name appears in the list of the dead,and another that a relative’s name isn’t listed…”

A long-time blogger who has used Facebook,Twitter and blogs for social causes,Iyer is a survivor of child sex abuse and is one of the research subjects for Onir’s I Am Abhimanyu.

He had to hang up on an international radio interview because another caller was trying to reach him. “I had to counsel and assist people as well as keep my line free for people to call. It was scary. Many times,I felt like crying,but then I saw a light flickering on my mobile phone. It was another call,another life looking for their loved ones,” he remembers.

Ritik Bhasin,27,was the saviour for 10-year-old Deven Thanki and his family. Bhasin,who was in the lobby of the Taj when terrorists struck,was running towards the hotel bookstore Nalanda when he saw Deven standing by himself,stunned. “I dragged him to safety. People all around us were getting shot at — a girl right next to me was killed on the spot and the lobby was strewn with injured and dead people,” recalls Bhasin.

The Thankis,who had been dining at the Shamiana,had taken cover elsewhere but had lost Deven in the melee. Bhasin and his colleague ensured that the frightened child remained with them. “I tried messaging his mother,but was not sure if they were safe since there was no reply. We hid for over five hours,” Bhasin says. When there was complete silence in the lobby,he decided to walk out,holding Deven’s hand all along,and ensuring he reunited the boy with his relieved parents.

Taufiq Shaikh is another unlikely hero. A little over 5 feet,the meek 20-year-old runs a tea-stall outside CST. He is the man at least 25 people owe their lives to. A runaway child who came to Mumbai from Bihar over a decade ago,Shaikh was rushing through his evening errands when he heard shots,“like firecrackers”. He ran to ticket counter No 21 and alerted the staff. “I’ve literally lived in CST ever since I ran away from my village at the age of eight. I know every nook of the station. It was my time to pay back,” he says,recounting how he entered the ticket counters and advised staff members to hide.

Seconds later,Ajmal Kasab reached the counter. “I guess he did not realise we were hiding below the counter. After a while,the firing stopped. I came out to see blood all over.” S N Jadhav,a ticketing staffer who suffered shrapnel injuries behind the glass-panelled counter,says,“Taufiq need not have come to our rescue. He could have been killed. Still he chose to save our lives.” Taufiq took Jadhav to JJ Hospital.

Kiran Manral,another blogger,called for citizens to pitch in through his online initiative,India Helps,which has been active through the year. “By providing financial,emotional,legal and rehabilitative help,the India Helps team served as on-ground volunteers and conduits between potential donors and recipients,” says Manral.

A team of volunteers has over the year returned several times to the homes of the injured and the bereaved,welcoming collaborations with other online networks to offer aid in cash and kind. “These go directly to intended recipients,with all administrative and transport costs borne by members themselves,” Manral says.

Akash Akinwar,as a doctor,is trained to act immediately. That’s why,says the lecturer at St George Hospital,it was the most natural thing for him to step out of Olympia Café opposite Leopold when the firing began and right away start rushing people to hospital. Akinwar,along with a friend,called for ambulances before he entered the café. “Timely measures helped us save a few lives,” says Akinwar.