Heroes At The TajMichael Pollack
My story begins innocuously, with a dinner
reservation in aworld-class hotel. It ends 12 hours later after the Indian army
freedus.
My point is not to sensationalize events. It is to express mygratitude and pay tribute to the staff of the Taj Mahal Hotel inMumbai, who sacrificed their lives so that we could survive. They, along with the Indian army, are the true heroes that emerged from this tragedy.
My wife, Anjali, and I were married in the Taj's Crystal Ballroom. Her parents were married there, too, and so were Shiv and Reshma, the couple with whom we had dinner plans. In fact, my wife and Reshma, both Bombay girls, grew up hanging out and partying the night away there and at the Oberoi Hotel, another terrorist target.
The four of us arrived at the Taj around 9:30 p.m. for dinner at the Golden Dragon, one of the better Chinese restaurants in Mumbai. We were a little early, and our table wasn't ready. So we walked nextdoor to the Harbor Bar and had barely begun to enjoy our beers when the host told us our table was ready. We decided to stay and finish our drinks.
Thirty seconds later, we heard what sounded like a heavy tray smashingto the ground. This was followed by 20 or 30 similar sounds and thenabsolute silence. We crouched behind a table just feet away from whatwe now knew were gunmen. Terrorists had stormed the lobby and were firing indiscriminately.
We tried to break the glass window in front of us with a chair, but itwouldn't budge. The Harbour Bar's hostess, who had remained at her post, motioned to us that it was safe to make a run for the stairwell.She mentioned, in passing, that there was a dead body right outside in the corridor. We believe this courageous woman was murdered after we ran away.
(We later learned that minutes after we climbed the stairs, terroristscame into the Harbour Bar, shot everyone who was there and executedthose next door at the Golden Dragon. The staff there was equally brave, locking their patrons into a basement wine cellar to protectthem. But the terrorists managed to break through and lob in grenadesthat killed everyone in the basement.)
We took refuge in the small office of the kitchen of another restaurant, Wasabi, on the second floor. Its chef and staff served thefour of us food and drink and even apologized for the inconvenience wewere suffering.
Through text messaging, e-mail on BlackBerrys and a small TV in theoffice, we realized the full extent of the terrorist attack on Mumbai.We figured we were in a secure place for the moment. There was also noway out.
My point is not to sensationalize events. It is to express mygratitude and pay tribute to the staff of the Taj Mahal Hotel inMumbai, who sacrificed their lives so that we could survive. They, along with the Indian army, are the true heroes that emerged from this tragedy.
My wife, Anjali, and I were married in the Taj's Crystal Ballroom. Her parents were married there, too, and so were Shiv and Reshma, the couple with whom we had dinner plans. In fact, my wife and Reshma, both Bombay girls, grew up hanging out and partying the night away there and at the Oberoi Hotel, another terrorist target.
The four of us arrived at the Taj around 9:30 p.m. for dinner at the Golden Dragon, one of the better Chinese restaurants in Mumbai. We were a little early, and our table wasn't ready. So we walked nextdoor to the Harbor Bar and had barely begun to enjoy our beers when the host told us our table was ready. We decided to stay and finish our drinks.
Thirty seconds later, we heard what sounded like a heavy tray smashingto the ground. This was followed by 20 or 30 similar sounds and thenabsolute silence. We crouched behind a table just feet away from whatwe now knew were gunmen. Terrorists had stormed the lobby and were firing indiscriminately.
We tried to break the glass window in front of us with a chair, but itwouldn't budge. The Harbour Bar's hostess, who had remained at her post, motioned to us that it was safe to make a run for the stairwell.She mentioned, in passing, that there was a dead body right outside in the corridor. We believe this courageous woman was murdered after we ran away.
(We later learned that minutes after we climbed the stairs, terroristscame into the Harbour Bar, shot everyone who was there and executedthose next door at the Golden Dragon. The staff there was equally brave, locking their patrons into a basement wine cellar to protectthem. But the terrorists managed to break through and lob in grenadesthat killed everyone in the basement.)
We took refuge in the small office of the kitchen of another restaurant, Wasabi, on the second floor. Its chef and staff served thefour of us food and drink and even apologized for the inconvenience wewere suffering.
Through text messaging, e-mail on BlackBerrys and a small TV in theoffice, we realized the full extent of the terrorist attack on Mumbai.We figured we were in a secure place for the moment. There was also noway out.
