HOMAGE TO DEPARTED: BJP leaders pay floral tributes at the memorial of Lumbini Park terror attack victims on the second anniversary of the twin blasts on Tuesday
Twin blasts bravehearts
Sudipta Sengupta | TNN
Hyderabad: Post August 25, 2007, Satish Anne feels unsettled each time he hears a loud noise. Even the sound of crackers during festivals unnerves him. But that has not deterred Anne from continuing to walk up to his shop, Savita Steel, everyday, even though it is situated right next to Gokul Chat, one of the sites of the twin bomb blasts, that shook the city two years back. Ditto, Shanshank Kasarla, operator of the laser show at Lumbini Park or Vijay, an employee for 15-years at Gokul Chat or K Rajkumar, a plumber at the city park.
Despite being witness to the massacre that left at least 40 dead on that fateful night, these people have been reporting to duty every single day—only more cautious and sometimes a little scared. “I walk into work praying that my day ends safely, especially on this particular day (August 25),” said 26-year-old Shashank. Recollecting the few moments soon after the first bomb exploded at the Laser Show, he says that the sight of blood and the sound of people screaming for help had left him “shaken”. “I immediately started helping other employees in carrying the injured to the ambulance, but mentally I was completely blank. I did not realise for long what had hit me,” said the young engineer adding that,”The sight of
the man who died in my arms while I was carrying him to the van still refuses to leave me. It was horrifying.”
While Shashank stuck to his job, despite his family coaxing him to quit after the incident, out of his love for the profession, for Rajkumar, it is more of a necessity. “I have to feed my family and I have no other option,” said the plumber who has been working at the park for the last 14 years. For Rajkumar, it was the longest night of his life when after attending to the victims and their inconsolable relatives he went back home only to find his family on the verge of breaking down. “The phone lines were jammed, so I could not get through to them from the spot. On not seeing me come home for a long time, my family thought I was among the dead,” said Rajkumar. Since then, his steps still falter at times while he makes the rounds of the open-air auditorium for work, as the memories of people writhing in pain keep coming back.
Standing before the closed gates of Gokul Chat, Vijay, however, is upset that the owners have decided to keep the shop shut on every August 25, even though customers kept streaming in through the day.Despite being left injured that night, Vijay still loves working at the shop, so much so that he feels it should be open everyday, such incidents notwithstanding. “What has happened has happened and we can do nothing about it. It is best to forget it and move on,” said this doughty Bihari, who has been working at the chat for 15 years. This ‘braveheart’ could perhaps be an inspiration for many.
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