Battered, not bowed: 10 yrs after blasts, city moves on

The only noticeable change is the ‘‘no hawker’’ signboard. Shopkeepers want to forget ‘‘that black day’’ but Kirti Ajmera insists on celebrating March 13 as his birthday. He says he got a new life that day. ‘‘The Union Bank branch near the stock exchange was badly damaged. We couldn’t count how many shards pierced my body. It’s a miracle I survived.’’

Welcomgroup Sea Rock Hotel, Bandra
3.20 pm, Level 18
No casualties, property worth Rs 4 crore destroyed

The interior of the ‘‘partially operating’’ hotel is desolate. The man at the reception refuses to discuss the blast. ‘‘It happened long ago,’’ he says. The revolving restaurant on Level 18 is stationary, as it has been since 3.20 pm that day.

Dinanath Gupta (58) has been running a paan shop and STD booth outside the hotel for over 20 years. ‘‘Sab dhuan dhuan tha, aur kya,’’ (There was smoke all around) he says. He says people used to avoid the area after the blast. ‘‘But the crowds have returned. New eateries have also opened up.’’

Century Bhavan, Worli
2.55 pm. On a bus waiting to leave the bus-stop near Passport Office
113 dead, 227 injured

Prakash Bhoite, a cobbler, can still picture ‘‘limbs flying, people running’’. The peepal tree where the bomb was placed stands as proof, half its trunk burnt. A restaurant nearby was renovated long ago.

Shaikh Memon Street, Zhaveri Bazar
3.05 pm, the most crowded spot in the market area
17 dead, 57 injured

The Mittalwadi corner on Shaikh Memon Street was always one of the busiest areas here. The jewellery outlets display their wares luxuriously. Those damaged have been renovated but there’s one missing: A five-storey building owned by main accused in the blasts Tiger Memon. It’s a garbage dumping ground now.

Lucky Petrol Pump, near Sena Bhavan, Dadar
2.30 pm, Inside the pump
4 dead, 50 injured

A peepal tree appears to beckon you to Lucky Petrol Pump. The pump was destroyed when a bomb exploded inside that day. Pump owner Diana D’Costa is busy totalling figures. ‘‘We lost employees in the blast, but why hang on to the memory?’’

A-I building, Nariman Point
2.25 pm. The parking lot
20 dead, 87 injured

People were standing outside the building, discussing the blast at the stock exchange. Suddenly, a car in the parking lot blew up. ‘‘For three days, the area was cordoned off. On the fourth day, I had to request police to leave my shop out of the restricted area,’’ says Harishankar Ingle (32) who owns a shoe shop outside the building. Over the years, he has expanded his business. The Bank of Oman office, outside which the bomb exploded, was gutted. That space is now used by Air India. Next door is Bank of India, operating as usual, just like the juice wallah and food vendors nearby. Nobody remembers the anniversary.

Centaur Hotel, Juhu
3.25 pm
None dead, 3 injured

This blast could have been worse. Owner of the petrol pump opposite the hotel, T.V. Chari, agrees. ‘‘The fuel tanker was parked right here. Luckily, the bomb exploded on the side facing the sea.’’ The hotel has put the incident far behind. Recently rechristened The Tulip Star, it’s being revamped.

Hotel Airport Centaur, Santacruz
3.35 pm, first floor
2 dead, 8 injured

Hotel Airport Centaur has also moved on. The bomb ripped through a room on the first floor but normalcy returned in 10 days.

Plaza Cinema, Dadar
3.20 pm
10 dead, 37 injured

For Ramesh Naik, manager of Plaza Cinema, who survived the blast within the compound, March 13 is a day he’d like to forget. A new wall has come up in place of the damaged one, plastered with posters of new Hindi films. ‘‘We check bags of those who come to the theatre and maintain a register of vehicles parked here. Rest, we leave it to fate,’’ says Naik.

Narsi Natha Street, Masjid Bunder
5 dead, 16 injured

Shop owners, small and big, will converge in front of Vandana Tea and Cold Drinks House on Wednesday, to cut a cake to commemorate the blast. It will be symbolic; they want to let go of a painful memory, forever. A decade since the blast, little has changed. It is as crowded as ever, with people, vehicles and goods-laden handcarts. Few are worried or have bad memories. They just talk about destiny and go on with their work.