Till Saturday noon, the Taj Mahal Hotel was under siege. In the next two hours, this site of terror turned into a symbol of India’s military power, a place to pay homage to the bravehearts and an object of curiosity.

What started as a stream in the afternoon became a force by the time the sun went down. Mumbaikars from every corner of the city came to applaud their new heroes, the NSG commandos, clicked pictures with them and conveyed their congratulations. They were joined by a number of prominent denizens, including singer Sonu Nigham, filmmaker Shona Urvashi and MTV VJ Raghu Rai.

Nine-year-old Sampada Chowdhary, who was glued to the TV for the last two days, came from Marine Lines with her parents to meet the heroes. “They killed the terrorists. They are our heroes,” she said, after her wish of shaking hands with commandos was fulfilled. Nagpada resident Farida Iqbal Mansuri went a step ahead. “I have taken autographs of five commandoes and I’m collecting more. It’s because of them that we are alive,” she said.

Few others like IT company employee Amit Chakravathy was just waiting for the terror drama to end. He along with three of his friends rushed from Andheri soon after the situation became normal. “We wanted to come on Thursday but the situation was very chaotic,” he said. “I also wanted to thank the commandoes.”

A number of Mumbaikars also wanted to check the extent of damage done to the 1903 architectural marvel. With the area still cordoned off, the onlookers took position near the Gateway of India, bandstand and behind the hotel to observe the structure.

... contd.