They looked like young students indulging in banter, laughing and patting each other, just minutes before their death machines began sputtering bullets, drowning the merriment in the bustling restaurant in shrieks of despair.

That laughter, typical of the youth without a care, still haunts Farzad Gehani, the owner of 'Leopold Cafe', the 138-year-old watering hole on Colaba causeway, one of the first landmarks to be targeted by the terror merchants on 26/11.

"I had seen them standing outside, chatting and laughing. The duo had a mobile phone and I could see them talking over it animatedly and patting each other on the shoulder. They looked every bit like college students waiting for a friend," he said.

Farzad recalls how he had gone to the first floor of the cafe housing the bar to watch India-England cricket match, quite unaware of the impending tragedy.

"Suddenly, there was a loud explosion quickly followed by rat-a-tat of bullets, loud screams and the sound of glass being shattered. Upstairs, all of us ducked for cover and I could see down through the glass the same two men firing indiscriminately," remembers Farzad. Through those two minutes of firing all that Farhad could think of was why was his cafe attacked. "My family toiled so hard to establish this cafe and in a matter of just two minutes these two boys destroyed everything. Why? I thought."

"In just about two minutes, the firing stopped and a deafening silence descended. I lifted my head and saw the terrorists walk towards the Taj hotel. We hurriedly climbed down the stairs and saw blood, bodies and broken glass strewn all over," he said recounting the horror.

... contd.