Author: Sayli Udas
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: July 13, 2006
URL: http://cities.expressindia.com/archivefullstory.php?newsid=192569&creation_date=2006-07-13
Introduction: They made every commute a pleasure
for fellow passengers. Now, without them, there's silence
Those travelling by the 5.36 pm Borivali-bound
train missed forty-four-year-old Kumud Shah. By face, if not by name.
Shah-a diamond merchant working at Opera House,
he had boarded the train at Charni Road station on Tuesday-succumbed to his
injuries after the compartment he was travelling in blew up at 6.25 pm at
Jogeshwari station.
And with him, also died a part of a lively
group of 15-20 Gujaratis-they are mostly stock brokers and diamond merchants-who
would take the train home every day. And on Wednesday, the train was quiet-the
group was missing with half of them feared dead.
''All of them were my train-friends,'' said
Arvind Shah, who works with a non-governmental organisation and helped in
the rescue operations.
Like Pravin Upadhaya (57), a businessman from
Santacruz, who was travelling with his friends on the same train and did not
survive. As also, Lalit Kakaliya (28), a diamond merchant, who faced a similar
fate.
''The group was a regular on the train and
the elders even had fixed places. All of them would call each other bhai (brother),''
said Suhas Korde, a marketing executive working with a software firm.
The group is remembered by most as a fun-loving
lot who would play cards on their briefcases and even get snacks for everyone.
''I never knew any of them personally. But
since I started travelling, I knew they were wonderful people,'' said Korde.
''I am looking for two of my Gujarati friends
who were a part of the group from Nallasopara, but I can't remember. I will
hunt for their visiting cards and try to trace them,'' said Vasant Rao, an
employee of Kesar Enterprises, and a regular commuter. ''Of course, we will
wait to see who all come tomorrow,'' added a positive Rao.
The Gujarati group, with their conversations
on shares and how the market was moving, will be remembered for helping people
like Korde with his investments.
''After the blast, I was shattered. After
people jumped off the train, I walked down from the first class compartment
at the beginning of the train to the middle one to look for my friends,''
said Kadam.
But only to see a gaping hole in a blown-up
compartment. ''All the people who made travelling a fun ride with their conversation
and are no more. I did not even dare to look at any of the bodies that were
being taken out as I was scared I would see one of my 'ever smiling' friends
in the arms of death,'' added Kadam.
