Smoke billowing out of the compartment. Bodies lying on the tracks. Blood everywhere. Women screaming. People shouting, crying, screaming...’’ This was Porko Thangavel’s (38) last memory of Mahim station on July 11.

A week later, on Tuesday evening, minutes after being discharged from hospital, Thangavel was back at Mahim. This time, to pay tribute to the 185 who weren’t as lucky as him. ‘‘How could I not do it? I could have easily been one of them...,’’ his voice trailed.

An insurance surveyor, Thangavel was thrown on to the platform when the bomb went off in the Borivali local. He suffered injuries on his hands, legs and his face. ‘‘Thankfully, somebody rushed me to KEM Hospital. It’s because of him that I am here today,’’ said Thangavel, with a smile.

Like Thangavel, united in grief, Mumbai—led by President A P J Abdul Kalam—paid a silent tribute to the victims of Terrible Tuesday, when seven bombs went off on seven suburban trains.

Joining the President

As soon as the sirens—put up by the state government’s Civil Defence Corps at various spots in the city—went off, onlookers stood still in roadside balconies and taxis in the thick of traffic, trains stopped, loud street vendors suddenly went quiet and pedestrians waited in respect.

As Kalam’s convoy reached Mahim station, there was a sudden rush. They all wanted to see him. Near Mahim station alone, hundreds congregated, held back by police barricades and security check-posts—manned by approximately 400 Railway Police Force personnel and Home Guards—at all the entry-points leading to the platforms.

... contd.