‘‘I was confident that if he went for any exam—bank, competitive or even an interview—he would be successful. He used to read anything and everything,’’ says Prakash.

‘‘During his college days, he worked first at Datacraft and then with the phone banking section of ICICI Bank,’’ says Shreyas.

His full-time job with Merck Shipping meant long hours and coming home as late as 2 am. So he shifted to DHL.

And it was only recently, that Swapnil finally gave up his whole-hearted allegiance to Mumbai. ‘‘He went for an interview with UTI bank after agreeing to work anywhere in the country,’’ says Prakash. ‘‘Two days after the blasts, we got a call saying he had got the job.’’

On Terrible Tuesday, Swapnil was last seen by a friend of Swapnaja’s as he was boarding the train at Bandra station.

‘‘Living in Mumbai and travelling by train, you know what time you leave home but never know when you will came back,’’ says Prakash. Or if you will ever come back—that’s what the family is trying to cope with.