When sons of the CST sweeper heard the staff had taken shelter in GM’s office, they were relieved that their mother was safe. The next morning came with the tragic newsWhen the family of Harkabai Solnaki (56), a sweeper at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, heard about the terror attack, they were worried, but when they came to know that railway employees have taken refuge in the general manager’s office, they were relieved. Their relief, however, was short-lived when they realised that among their mother was among those killed by the terrorists. “Our mother was a magnet that had held us together. When alive, she worked for us endlessly. Even after her death, she continues to bless us,” says Dilip, her second son who works as a singer in a private orchestra. Harkabai’s third son Rajesh is likely to take up her job now. He currently works as a sweeper with a private hospital in Dongri. The family can be well called a “railway family” — Harkabai’s has three sons and 13 grandchildren. A native of Khedam in Gujarat, she worked with the Railways for over 34 years. Her husband Lalji, a railway employee who also worked as a sweeper, died around 18 months ago after protracted illness. Harkabai’s elder son Deepak was given the job of his father.Living in the one-room accommodation in the railway quarters at Wadi Bunder, the family has furnished the house frugally but tastefully. The sparkling copper utensils in a corner immediately catch one’s attention. “It was her hobby to collect these utensils,” says Dilip. “In fact, we have packed the larger ones due to space constraint.” Recounting the horror of it all, her family says they got the news of her death only on Thursday morning, the day after terrorists gunned down more than 50 people at CST. “She used to be home at 11 pm. But on that evening, my elder brother who was on his way to Nashik informed me about the firing after which I told my younger brother to go to CST to ensure her well-being. But by then, cops had cordoned off the area leading to CST,” says Dilip. The next morning, when Harkabai’s sons reached the CST station, they were asked to go the Sion hospital to check if their mother was there. When they could not find her there, they decided to check in the nearest hospital to the station — the St George hospital. To their horror, they found her body on a stretcher, with blood still oozing from the bullet wound - it had punctured her intestine.
