Mumbai:
On his first visit to the city, Sameer Narula has a fixed itinerary. The Agra-based software engineer, who is staying with his cousins in the Western suburbs, plans to visit Gateway of India, Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels and Leopold Cafe. "It may sound absurd and insensitive but I am on terror tourism to Mumbai," admitted the 23-year-old, a tad apologetically.
Incidentally, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Chabad House are not on Narula's list.
As the second anniversary of 26/11 looms large, not just tourists from small town India but also from across the world will be visiting the city. While some of them are curious travellers, others are here with a purpose. "We lost a dear friend in the attacks and have taken this trip to pay homage," said US national Natasha Greene, who is visiting Mumbai with three other friends.
The group added that they meant to come last year but "just could not gather the courage" to undertake the journey. "It was hard to come to terms with our loss. Some of us had to go for psychiatric counselling before we finally decided to pack our bags and come to Mumbai," Greene added.
Line Kirsten Uloldbeck, a survivor of 26/11, who is currently in the city to "heal old wounds and meet other survivors", agreed that it was not an easy decision to come back to Mumbai. "It was a huge step but it had to be taken for ourselves and for those who lived through the horror," she says. Uloldbeck is accompanied by her boyfriend Arnie Stromme who was injured when terrorists struck at Leopold Cafe.
Besides individual travellers, a group of performing artistes and social activists will also make their presence in Mumbai this week. A dance troupe from Argentina called 'Lets Tango' will perform at the Rang Sharda auditorium in Bandra on Friday. And though the troupe has no connection to 26/11, the organisers claim that they are glad to be in Mumbai around this time.
"We are marking the anniversary of 26/11 by holding a free show for handicapped children and will have more shows for the general public over the weekend," says organiser, Dilip Bhuva.
Meanwhile, an international NGO is planning to get families together affected by terrorism on a single platform, this week.
"The Mumbai terror attacks have compelled us to work with the families of victims and survivors. We are hoping to start a dialogue on religious extremism and how it can be identified and prevented," says Elaine Hargrove of international advocacy group, Women Without Borders. The NGO has also invited activists and violence-affected families from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan to Mumbai this week.
Copyright restricted. Under license from <a href="http://www.3dsyndication.com/" rel="nofollow">www.3dsyndication.com</a>