Mumbai: Hardika Panchal's friends arranged a ferry at the Gateway to celebrate her turning 25. Little did they know that among the boats they waved to that night could have been one bringing in terrorists
Wednesday, November 26, my 25th birthday! My colleagues, along with some of my closest friends, planned a surprise party for me on a ferry at Gateway of India. We reached Colaba at around 7.30 pm. Then a colleague suggested we get one of those Polaroid shots taken at the Gateway of India. We all agreed, but some of us had to use the washroom and so we went inside the Taj Hotel, little knowing had we gone inside later, we would have probably ended up being there for the next 48 hours and might not have returned alive!
When we were taking photos at the Gateway, a colleague grimly said, "I don't want to say this right now, but I always feel a little nervous when I come to the Gateway." Who knew her fears would prove a premonition for the terrible night that awaited the city.
Once in the ferry, we saw several other ferries and speedboats at sea and in our merriment, we waved out to them unaware that some people on it might be the ones responsible for the ghastly acts committed that night.
When we approached the shore at 9.30 pm, my colleague asked her driver to bring the car parked near the Taj. Her driver was in a state of panic and told her that there was firing near the hotel.
We thought we hadn't heard him correctly. But when a friend called the police control room, they confirmed the news and advised us to stay on the ferry in the water. Sure enough, we heard a gunshot. In front of us, the horrific scene unfolded. People were running on the street across the hotel and the place was swarming with police vans, television vans and later, ambulances too. My birthday surprise had turned into a shock!
At about 10 pm, the drivers of our boat told us that we could leave from the side entrance of Gateway, called gate no 2. Now that we were on terra firma, fear started creeping up my back. We walked the stretch from Gateway of India till the Yacht Club. One stray bullet and it would be over⦠just like that!
But when we heard the blasts, we decided to go into the Yacht Club, even if we weren't members. The management graciously let us in and as things worsened through the night, they gave us rooms to spend the night and a big breakfast spread the next day.
Finally at around 11 am, a colleague's mother managed to arrange for a Tops security van for us. As we passed through Colaba causeway, I couldn't believe that Leopold's, good ol' Leos⦠the place where we spent many Saturday nights, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, was now an ugly mass of blood and ashes.
Hardika is a sub-editor at Hair magazine, published by Spenta Multimedia
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