On second anniversary of 7/11, a tribute to the 187 lives lived

The Indian Express published a 187-part series, with the same name in 2006. The book, out next month, picks up from there, with accounts of the lives lived, what followed after, stories of family members, relatives and friends of those killed and affected.

The book details what each of those 187 did and what they were all about, that despite the tragedy and the attempt to destroy the vitality of India, these will forever serve as reminders of the spirit of India, its tremendous resilience, diversity and determination to fight the odds. It is a tribute to the indefatigable spirit of Mumbai, the only city in the world to have faced not one but two serial blasts, and a toast to its citizens — ordinary people who worked tirelessly through that terrible night to help the wounded, the stranded and the missing, people who knew they had be back on the local trains the next morning to get on with life.

Two years have elapsed since Terrible Tuesday. Most of those who lost their lives were the sole earning members of their families. Reporters and photographers of The Indian Express have revisited some families to find out how they are struggling to cope — some with death, others with crippling injuries.

On March 31 this year, with funds raised from reader contributions, The Indian Express My Mumbai Trust disbursed cheques for Rs 2.2 lakh each to 12 of the most dispossessed families left behind.