The Saviour

“Stay with me.” “It’s gonna be fine.” “You will be alright.” I only remember someone mumbling these words in my ears… I woke up. I could see white sheets, a draped curtain. I could hear voices. I opened my mouth but there was excruciating pain. In my thigh. And I yelled! A nurse came running inside. “Where am I? What’s happened to me? ” “You’re in a hospital Sir. You had been shot in the thigh”, the nurse replied. “What! Why would anyone shoot me? Why don’t I remember anything?” “Sir please calm down. The doctor will come here and tell you everything.” Just then a doctor entered. “Good afternoon Sir. How do you feel now?” asked the doctor. “Where am I Doctor? Why am I here? I remember I was in Taj…I was just done with a important meeting with a new client for my office. And I was roaming around. Then suddenly I heard voices around. I went running to see what the matter is. That was 26 November. I don’t remember a thing after that.” “Sir..let me explain you everything. There has been a heavy terrorist attack in Mumbai sir. You have been shot by the terrorist in the thigh. You’re lucky the shot wasn’t on your chest. And even more lucky that a hotel staff dragged you to safety and bolted the door from inside and kept you alive for 2 days. Till the Black Cat commandoes came and found you and the girl.” “There was a terrorist attack? In Taj???” I was so perplexed. “Yes Sir. It’s been 5 days since the 26th and 3 days after which you have woken up. We performed a surgery on you as soon as you came in the hospital. Had it been later you would have lost your life. The amount of blood you lost was tremendous!” the doctor said. I was speechless for some time. I kept staring at the doctor. “Who saved my life?” I asked. “I don’t know that sir.” Just then my mother entered. “Mom.” She came running to me. She was crying uncontrollably and hugged me and refused to leave me. “Mom what happened?” “You don’t know anything dear. We saw on news that the Taj had been attacked. We knew that you were going to have a meeting up there. I was so scared that day. I was calling on your phone but you did not answer my calls. We came rushing to Mumbai and wanted to come running to see if everything was fine but the there was security everywhere around. We pleaded to come and search for you but to no avail. We did not sleep the whole 2 days. Then on the night of the second day we got a call from the hospital. That you were shot and admitted there. We were happy to hear your news but never in our lives have we been so scared”, my mom kept wailing. “Mom…the doctor told me that a hotel staff saved my life. who was it mom. I want to thank the hotel staff for doing so.” “I don’t know son. We got your news when you were directly in the hospital. We don’t know who saved your life.” I was discharged after 3 days. Although I could not walk freely I limped. I wanted to know who had saved my life. My parents insisted on taking me back home and never allowing me to set foot in Mumbai again. I told them I won’t go home without thanking the people who saved my life. The next day I tried going to Taj. There was security around and I was not allowed to hover even near the premises of south Mumbai. I rebelled but to no avail. I was clueless where to search for the hotel staff. I gave up and went home. But I promised myself I would come back after the Taj re opens and thanks the person who saved my life. At home I again started having the same dreams. Someone murmuring in my ears. “Stay with me.” “It’s going to be alright.” I woke up with a start that night. I went out to take water. My mother came running. “What happened beta? You need anything?” “Just water mom. I’m fine. “ “Beta you need sleep.” “No mom. I’m just fine. I just needed water.” I went back to sleep. The dream kept coming back and forth. Again and again. After a few days my leave from office was over. Although my parents refused me to go back to Mumbai after much persuasion to them that I went back. The first thing I did on going to Mumbai was that I went to Taj… I enquired about the person at the reception. The person refused to reveal the identity. I fought and fought to know at least the name of the person who saved my life. “Sir we have asked by the police to not reveal anyone’s identity”, the receptionist said. “So you don’t want me to thank the person at all?” “I refuse to let you know any details. Now may you excuse us Sir?” “Do hell with your excuse. I’m not moving anywhere from here unless you tell me who the person was.” “You can very much stay here till the time you want. I have orders to not reveal any name.” “Ill go and talk to the police. And find out. I have a right to know the name of the person who saved my life!” I went to the police station. They said they had not given any orders as such. Fuming I went back to the Taj. “So..gentleman…why won’t you reveal the identity?” “The person has asked me not to.” “Who is this person who thinks he’s god and does not want me to know his name? Take me to your manager. I’ll find out who the person is.” I went to the manager and explained that I needed to more than thank the person who saved my life. The manager asked me where I was last the day the firing happened. I told him where I was. The manager enquired about all his staff working in that area. “ Send her in”, the manager said. “Sir the girl who saved your life will be here in a short while. Please bear with s for some time.” I waited for around 15 minutes. “Yes Surbhi. There’s a gentleman here who wants to meet you. “ I turned around…and saw her…she was looking at my face…with an expression that told me why she did not want me to know it was her. It went back to my engineering days. When we were in our first year she had asked me out. I had insulted her in front of the whole college and then she had left college because she did not want to see my face again ever. “HI”, she said. I could only murmur a small hi. “You wanted to meet me?” she asked. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life. As I want to express my gratitude towards you will you allow me to take you out for dinner ?” I asked her. She took a long breath. “Yes.” I was waiting for her in front of the restaurant a night later. After she came I escorted her in and we sat at a table. “So what are you doing nowadays?” she asked me. “I completed my MBA from IIM-A and now in marketing and sales for a renowned company. What about you?” I replied. “After quitting engineering I took up hotel management. Graduated from IHM-Bangalore and now here..at Taj.” “Surbhi I want to thank you whole heartedly for saving my life..i don’t know how you did it and how all this happened. How much this means for me is hard to say. I don’t remember a thing after I was shot that night. Tell me what happened Surbhi.” She was looking at me. “It’s over..why do you want to know?” “Surbhi I owe you my life. Don’t I have a right to know how my life was saved?” “It’s not a very amusing story. It’s a story with noises of just bullets and screams. It’s full of agony and cries.” “I still want to know.” “I was working in one of the lobbies managing the staff as the second shift was going to start. It was my time to leave as well. Suddenly I heard the noise of bullets and people screaming. I did not understand what was happening. I went running towards the area where the noise came from. From a distance I saw 2 men firing bullets from a long gun continuously. My heart stopped beating. I was at a safe distance from the lobby so they could not see me. Then I saw you. You too had come running outside but you were in full view of the terrorists. And then you were shot. My thinking ability was still numb. I was staring speechlessly at everything going on. Then the terrorists took one of the stairs and went away. I did not know what to do. I was standing shivering and shaking there for around 15 minutes. There was silence everywhere except more sounds of bullets and screams. Then again I saw you. You had fallen down and were probably out of senses. I ran towards you with shivering limbs. I saw that you were wounded in your thigh and that you could be saved. Just then I heard someone coming back down the stairs. I had to act fast. I knew each and every corner of the hotel. I quickly dragged your body to the closest rooms in knew. It was a room where all brooms were kept. I bolted the room and sat there. It was a small room. I placed everything that was there near the door so that no one could come in. I then saw you. You were losing a lot of blood. I tied a cloth around the wound to prevent it. I did everything that I could do. After a while the bleeding stopped. I did not know what to do to save your life. I was so scared I did not what to do. A whole night passed. I did not know what was going to happen next. I could hear screams and I was helpless. You were not gaining consciousness and I was getting scared you would not live longer. I kept murmuring words in your ears. That you’ll live, everything would be fine. I kept saying that for the entire day. I was crying and scared and I had no energy, no motivation left in me. Yet I kept murmuring in your ears. A night passed. Then a heard the door being banged. I got so scared that it was them. I started shivering again. Then by banging and breaking someone opened the door. I was shivering and shaking. I had you in my lap and I kept staring at the door breaking slowly. All scared. Then two men managed to break open the door. They were fully dressed in black. Even their mouths were covered with black cloth. Then they shoved me up and took your body. One of then called one more person and 2 of them took you while one more guy carried me out all shivering and shaking. I could not even stand. The man in black ushered me outside and was with me till I sat in an ambulance. You were fled to the hospital in another ambulance. I too was taken to the hospital. I did not know where you went after that. That’s all the story is about. I have not done anything out of the way to save your life.” I did not know in what words I could thank her. I did not know how I could ever repay her for this. I was silent for most of the dinner and so was she. On our way back to drop her to her home she started crying uncontrollably. “What happened Surbhi. Please tell me. Surbhi what happened. Did I hurt your feelings? Did I say something wrong?” I panicked. “Nothing. Nothing.It’s fine. I just think of that day and get scared that’s all. Thanks for the dinner. My house is right there. Bye.” “Are you sure you’re fine? Ill drop you till your flat.” “I’m OK. Thanks for the lift.” I dropped her and went home. After that day I realized those dreams…they were the words which Surbhi kept muttering in my ears. Slowly..but loud enough to register them in my brain. It was the same girl who had saved my life who I had insulted so badly when she had asked me out in my first year. It was the same girl who left engineering because I had also slapped her in front of an entire crowd in the canteen way back then and then she had left the college. I had not realized kid dish love back then. All my contact with her was shut after that. The same girl had come to my rescue. The next day I went back to Taj. I went to her and asked her out for dinner again. She refused this time. “As I understand you wanted to thank me for saving your life. Now you need not ask me for dinner again and again. I feel I’ve been repaid back by you enough. Thanks you for everything.” “No Surbhi…it’s not about thanking you. I…I want to genuinely take you out for dinner. It’s not just about thanking you.” “I said I won’t come. Do I have to say the same in any other words? Am I not understood enough?” “But Surbhi…I apologize for what I did to you in first year…I’m really sorry…I was immature back then..i did not know how to handle it. Surbhi can’t you spare me some of your time?” “It’s not about first year. I’m done with all dinners left in my life.” I did not know what to say. For the next 2 weeks I kept going to Taj and I kept asking her for dinner. She kept saying no every time. I was not going to lose. I had to win her. Finally she agreed. But told me this was going to be one last time that she would have dinner with me. But this time she was very different at dinner. She hardly spoke. Rather last time too she had spoken just about the incident and a few words here and there. But this time she had a weird sadness in her. “What’s the matter Surbhi…you’re quiet.” “Nothing.” She replied and was quiet again. “Surbhi I can help you out.” “Oh..you can help me out?” she asked me sarcastically. I looked at her face. “Sure then…bring me back my boyfriend which those b******* killed that night. He was a very good man. Then why did they kill him? Why wasn’t I in the kitchen instead of the lobby? Maybe I would have saved him instead of you. Bring me back all my friends who were killed that night.” Saying this she started crying. I wanted to help her out. But I was silent and at loss of words. All I did was hugged her tightly. That night we both did not say anything to each other again. Why are we innocent people a subject to all this? What is our mistake? We earn so that we can feed our family and see them happy. We are not here to be an object of terrorism. Not here so that they can devastate our lives like this forever. I left her at her home that night. I could understand how hollow she would be feeling. As if every need to live life was over. As if living life without the person you loved was not a need anymore. It was better to die instead. And I knew I had to get her out if this trauma. I met her every day after that day. I spent entire evenings with her trying to divert her attention and trying to make her forget everything. Eventually she started forgetting those incidents with time and I started falling in love with her. I proposed to her and she too accepted my proposal after much persuasion. We got married later but she has vowed that she will have a good night’s sleep only after she evacuates terrorism totally from the world. Please help her everyone. It’s for the benefit of every Mumbaikar, every Indian, and every citizen of the world. Help us curb terrorism.

Hemangi Gogari