The horror of watching the nation being held hostage has taken its toll on us.Of all the distressing images that 26/11 threw up, the photograph of Baby Moshe clutching a ball, crying, with his other arm outstretched to his nanny was particularly disturbing. A nation wept for the Israeli toddler who lived, orphaned on his birthday, a victim like so many Indians who found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. The horror of watching ten gunmen hold India hostage for 60 painstaking hours, while a helpless government’s laconic response came way too late just drove home the brutal truth faster—in a situation like that, only God and good luck can save you. An event of this enormity which shook the nation and the world has left its mark on everyone in the vicinity of the attacks on 26 Ratan Kapoor, 37, who works for a British yachting company that is setting up operations in India checked out of the Trident on Wednesday afternoon after a month-long stay to move to a magnificent luxury yacht, Alysia, docked half a kilometer off the Gateway. The Delhi-based Kapoor had organised an elaborate three-day party on the yacht, Alysia, starting at 10 pm on that fateful night to introduce Mumbai’s jet setting crowd to the luxury liner. At six, Kapoor went to the deck and watched the sun turn a brilliant orange before setting, with his friends from Kolkata, Raj and Sangeeta Kejriwal who’d flown down for his party. Andreas Liveras, the Greek millionaire owner of Alysia was in a festive mood, drinking champagne. “He had just returned from Chor Bazaar, and was showing us the artifacts he bought for the yacht. He was urging us to come with him to Masala Craft (a restaurant at the Taj) for curry,” says Raj Kejriwal. When the firing began in the hotel, the Navy ordered Kapoor and the rest of the party to stay indoors on the yacht. At 4 am, the crew and guests heard that Andreas Liveras had been shot dead. His British partner, Nick Edmiston, also on the yacht was weeping inconsolably, consumed with guilt for bringing the 71-year-old Greek tycoon to India. Kapoor says the 48-hours forced confinement on the yacht was probably the most agonising wait of his life. “I’m not angry. I never expected anything better from the government anyway. It’s just been a very emotionally draining experience,” says Kapoor. Since 26/11, grief has manifested in uncontrollable anger, and thousands of frustrated Indians have finally reacted, the build up of decades’ old suppressed rage against politicians, corruption and massive governmental failure at every level. Even though as a people we’re not prone to hysterical reactions, we have voiced angst through candlelight vigils, e-mails, social networking groups and even via SMS. Status updates in chat windows across the Internet hailed the Indian Army, said a prayer for victims’ families, or left nostalgic impressions of The Taj. On Facebook, groups like The Non Cooperation Movement and fan sites of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan have added on hundreds of people, upset by the attacks and shaken out of their inertia. The usual Indian optimism that things could always be worse is no longer finding much resonance. “Everybody who visits relatives in Mumbai gets a picture clicked at the Gateway and the Taj, irrespective of whether they’re rich or not. These are vicariously intimate places through Hindi movies and history so everyone hurts when something like this happens,” says Dipanker Gupta, a sociologist at Delhi’s JNU and author of Culture, Space and the Nation State. “Mumbai is devastated and India is shaken. People are seeking spiritual answers. Why did this have to happen?” says Nomita Roy Ghose, 57, Group Leader to 3,000 members of a Buddhist chapter in Mumbai. At their weekly group meetings held last Sunday where members’ problems are usually discussed, people instead wept for lost lives and talk revolved on trying to find the meaning in the attacks. One member questioned whether being a non-violent Buddhist is enough or should it be backed up by some action. “A much larger perspective has suddenly emerged. We now understand that our personal problems are in some way connected to the nation,” says Ghose.But as far as problems with the nation go, there has also been praise for the brave— the NSG commandos, the army and the hotel staff who helped save lives. Jamie Stewart, former cricketer with his own sports management company in India is an Australian married to a Mumbai girl. On 26th night, he was dining with a client at the Italian restaurant at The Trident, opposite Tiffin when the shooting started. They ducked into the kitchen and remained closeted there till they were evacuated at 3 am. “Frankly, in those few hours, we didn’t think we would make it out alive,” says Stewart. He says he’s shaken by the experience, but also humbled by the bravery he saw around him. “Most Indians have become immune to disaster. This is a wake-up call.” These attacks have forced the affluent middle class and the wealthy to take a long, hard look at themselves and acknowledge that they’re not invulnerable. “Historically, change has always come about when the bourgeoisie is affected,” says Ghazala Amin, senior lecturer, World History at Jesus and Mary College, New Delhi. Since November 26, Amin has been besieged with students’ inquisitive questions about being Muslim and about terrorism. “Students know they can’t count on politicians to change their future. It’s this generation that will make change happen,” says Amin. It will be a while for this national scar to heal. Meanwhile, Kapoor has deferred the launch of Alysia to February and changed the venue to Goa. “The Taj is too morbid a background and I’m not ready to go back there yet,” he says. Maybe modern India has reached a potential turning point in history. Making a U-Turn might be hard but the moment is definitely upon us.
