An airhostess with Lufthansa Airlines, Lotika, along with five of her crew members, was confined in room number 1511 of Hotel Oberoi till the NSG commandoes rescued them at 11.30 am on November 28. The crew also included four German nationals.

While Lotika was trapped in the room, her relatives in Lucknow could not even wink for over 36 hours.

A steady throng of neighbours kept visiting her house at A-18, Mayur Vihar Colony to assure her parents — R A Lawrence and Monica Lawrence — of her safety.

Monica, a teacher at the Lucknow Christian College, narrated the nightmarish experience of her daughter.

“Lotika had checked in with her colleagues at the hotel at 9 am on November 26. They were to fly to Frankfurt the same night,” she said.

“We knew that Lotika was in Mumbai but had no inkling about her location. She called me around 4 am on November 27 telling that she was trapped in Hotel Oberoi,” she added.

“Lotika kept calling us every hour and we heard gunshots in the background. We remained glued to the news channels,” said Monica.

In the evening of November 27, Lotika received a call from the commandoes assuring them that they will be rescued soon. They asked her to open the door only after hearing the word — ‘housekeeping’.

Another call came in the morning before the command-oes arrived at her room around 11.30 am and rescued them.

“Lotika kept on crying when she called me up after coming out of the hotel. She flew to Munich on Tuesday morning and will return to Lucknow on December 4. She will share her experiences before a congregation at the Lalbagh Methodist Church on December 7,” said Monica.

A former student of Cathedral School and Indian Institute of Hotel Management in Lucknow, Lotika was with Indian Airlines before joining Lufthansa in August, 2006.

Youth survives 42 hours in Taj
Maulana Zaheer Abbas, general secretary of All India Shia Personal Law Board, will never forget the 42 hours he has spent waiting for his son to return.

Around 10 pm on November 26, he had learnt of the Mumbai terror attacks. His son Husain Rizvi (20) was working at the Taj Mahal Hotel, which was taken hostage by the terrorists. “I tried to call him but no one answered his cellphone,” said Abbas. He immediately flew to Mumbai and rushed to the hotel, only to wait outside for hours. There was still no response from Rizvi to his father’s calls.

Two sms brought some hope when Rizvi said he was OK and would call later. He and two guests were hiding in a closet which stored bed sheets.

Around 1 pm on November 28, the NSG commandoes rescued Rizvi and the two guests. Rizvi had not eaten or even drank water for 42 hours and was in a traumatised condition. “His body temperature was low and was heavily dehydrated. The NSG administered first aid to him and we took him home,” said Abbas. On Tuesday, Rizvi is back to work just like the thousands of Mumbaikars — resilient and confident. - ENS