Three weeks after the Mumbai attacks, the injured in city hospitals are waiting to return home. The Sunday Express listens to their stories of relief and fear

Rajendra Chawan

‘My wife has given birth to a boy. But I haven’t met them. We are in different hospitals’

From his room on the ninth floor of Bombay Hospital, Rajendra Chawan, 34, looks at the South Mumbai skyline and the dome of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Chawan, an employee with a private security firm posted at the hotel, was not on duty when the terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal Hotel on November 26. But the following day, when he reported to work, helping NSG commandos clear the hotel, a bullet hit him. “Though they are telling me I will get my job back, I don’t know if I will be able to work as a security guard. I have a bullet injury and a fracture because of which I can barely stand. It has to heal completely before I get back to my 9-to-5 job,” says Chawan.

But he’s looking forward to returning home, especially since his wife Rashmi gave birth to a boy last weekend. “I haven’t seen my wife or child. I was not even there. We are in different hospitals,” said Chawan.

His joy at his son’s birth is tempered by concern over the uncertain future. He is not even sure he will be able to bear the medical expenses after he is discharged from hospital. Now, he’s resting all his hopes on a visit by Ratan Tata, managing director of Tata group, and his words of encouragement.

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