A year later, they are picking up the pieces of their shattered lives and moving on, for the sake of their lives and their children’s.

Virar residents and friends Prawara Patil, 35, and Sandhya Naik, 36, have found jobs as indicator operators at Naigaon and Virar stations. The two are busy monitoring trains and making announcements the entire day.

While both were initially averse to taking up a job in the D Category thinking it would entail sweeping and cleaning, today they have come to terms with it. “How would I pay my bills?” asks Prawara, who lost her husband Nitin on that terrible Tuesday.

Sandhya seeks solace in her work. “It keeps me distracted and gainfully employed,” she says. Had she stayed at home, she knows that memories of husband Ranjan would continue to haunt her.

Making ends meet is difficult with Prawara’s Rs 5,000 salary. “But with the interest on the compensation and by cutting corners, we manage,” she says.

However, time with her 10-year-old daughter Aditi has become something of a luxury now. “I used to feed Aditi myself, but now there is no time to pamper her,” says the mother. When Prawara has to work night shifts, she hardly gets to see her daughter. “My neighbours make sure she has her meals once she is home, and the watchmen mind her when she is playing in the colony,” says Prawara.

Katha Naikwade’s academic qualifications gave her a slight edge over others. An MSc degree in mathematics and her computer skills helped her get a job in the C category. “Although I am working in group C, the payments and paperwork are as per group D standards,” says the soft-spoken Katha, 31.

But with husband Hriday gone, she prefers a desk job at the Bombay Central office for the “security of a government job”. Plus, a five-day week means weekends are reserved exclusively for her daughter Nirmitee.

For Rehana Merchant, who is in her 60s, sharing her grief with other families has worked like an analgesic. “The incident left a trail of tragedies and I realised that I was not alone. I managed to contact many of the families,” said Merchant. Now, she feels a special bond with other families affected by 7/11.

Meeta Shah, 44, lost her husband Tushit to the Jogeshwari blast. She is now busy communicating with the Railway Ministry to seek help for the injured. “Families which lost their dear ones have received the compensation. We are putting in our efforts to get the injured victims a decent compensation and a job opportunity which would complement their skills,” said Shah, who led a memorandum to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav last week.

As Sandhya gets ready to announce the arrival of a Churchgate fast, she recalls how her nine-year-old son wouldn’t let her go to office fearing that she too would never come back. “But he is used to it now,” she says.