‘I was there when it happened’

While people currently reminisce on their experiences of the 1971 war we document other defining flashpoints that shifted the mindscape These exclude devastating bombings and terror attacks which have been chronicled at lengthlsquoWe felt scattered and lostrsquoVictoria Dock explosion April 14 1944Her 86 years cannot dim details etched firm in Sarla Lodayarsquos mind She has visceral memories of the grim accident shattering her sixyearold world within minutesOn April 14 1944 the British freighter SS Fort Stikine carrying inflammable materials cotton bales raw sulphur timber scrap iron and gold bullion exploded with incredible force injuring and killing thousands Taking three days to control the fire 8000 men cleared five lakh tonnes of debris for seven monthsVictoria Dock in a devastated condition after the explosion on April 14 1944 It took three days to control the fire and seven months to clear five lakh tonnes of debris File picBombay Port TrustSpeaking from her Chembur home Lodaya narrates how that traumatic afternoon unfolded for her Kutchi family in a Masjid Bunder building called Narshi Keshavji No Mado Not everyone was home Children were yet in school and men at work That left elders housewives and younger children vulnerable at 4 pm when flames broke out Her father Manilal Dhulla in the business of leasing nearby godown space was away in Khandesh interior Maharashtra collecting dues from customers Purbai her 27yearold mother was about to prepare tea when she and little Lodaya playing in the passage outside the chawlrsquos open doors suddenly heard shouts of ldquoAag lagi aag lagirdquoldquoOur terrace was engulfed by smoke spreading from a shower of burning material from the ship falling on it Neighbours from the opposite side screamed warning us to runrdquo says Lodaya ldquoJewellery for my auntrsquos upcoming wedding lay in the home safe The dayrsquos cash handed over at 2 pm by our Mehtaji accountant was also stored in the cupboard Finally of course the vault itself melted Baddho rupyo raakh thai gayo all the money was reduced to ashes This was so dangerous no time to gather valuables my mother urged We dashed downstairs no chappals on our feet not a scrap in our handsldquoOur father at a railway ticket window buying the fare back to Bombay got a shock when the news reached him His godown wasnrsquot spared either Without financial support the heart succumbed to stress He died two years later only 32 Till we got alternative living arrangements we shunted between any number of them wellwishers like Lilbai helped The wife of the owner of Lakhmichand Cooverji amp Co Talpatriwala she took us to her relativersquos spare room at Currey Road offering temporary refuge Our future a question mark we felt scattered and lost I learnt it is possible to make do with really few belongingsrdquolsquoI waved back I was five I was therersquo first Moon landingJuly 20 1969 the astronautsrsquo Bombay visit October 26 1969Remembering the epic first moon landing architectpoet Mustansir Dalvirsquos blog described an exciting episode mdash of welcoming the space men who took ldquoone small step for man one giant leap for mankindrdquo three months after their stupendous featHe writes ldquoWhen we were kids Apollo meant the Gateway of India That changed after Apollo 11 On July 20 1969 the Apollo Mission put man on the moon We knew their names vivid and evocative mdash Neil Armstrong Michael Collins Edwin Aldrin Images of spacesuitshod glass visorwearing astronauts were in newspapers on walls of restaurants on Volga ice cream wrappers on covers of firecracker boxes during DiwalildquoOn October 26 at five years old I found myself at Crawford Market under Lockwood Kiplingrsquos marble murals where DN Road swings to Carnac Bunder My uncle Mustaali whose finger I held on to hoisted me up on the railing at the first roar from the mob Flanking motorcyclists in white uniforms formed the avantgarde The cavalcade arrived soon dark cars In one of them three red faces in suits their arms out waving Armstrong Collins Aldrin As they swept past I looked at them they looked at me and I waved back and waved and wavedhellip ldquoThe astronauts came to Bombay for their tryst with me I was five I was thererdquolsquoI was determined to work in our rashtra bhasharsquoGandhijirsquos assassination January 31 1948Ameen Sayani right decided at age 16 to broadcast in the rashtra bhasha on hearing news of Gandhijirsquos assassination the funeral procession on January 31 1948 with over a million mourners Pics courtesyGetty Images Rajil SayaniEveryonersquos beloved radio host Ameen Sayani believed a comperersquos diction should encompass ldquoseven S qualitiesrdquo sahi correct satya true saral simple spasht clear sabhya decent sundar beautiful swabhavik natural Till he turned 16 Hindi was not a priority ldquoBut on January 31 1948 that dreadful day of Gandhijirsquos assassination I made a resolutionrdquo he declaredldquoNews of those fatal gunshots reached us students in the Common Room of St Xavierrsquos College I was determined mdash as lsquonaye Bharat ka naya naujawanrsquo I would work in our rashtra bhasha Auditioning for Hindi broadcasting with the AIR chiefs proved my diction needed less English and Gujarati accents To improve my Hindustani I went for radio technology training I prayed to God Gandhiji and my mother for 200300 letters from listeners of the first show in December 1952 I got 9000rdquolsquoNowhere have I felt safe as I did that flood day in BombayrsquoHeavy statewide flooding July 26 2005How does a city tragedy still pull you to stay on Walking around the Cooperage on a heritage trail I once got chatting with a photographer who confessed to being smitten by a Bombay she saw ldquoat worst yet bestrdquo When it drowned under the fatal floods of July 26 2005 ldquoIrsquove lived in Delhi and all over the countryrdquo she said ldquoNowhere have I felt safe as I did that day even trapped in neckhigh swirling water What a lot of ways ordinary people made sure I didnrsquot collapse with fear or hungerrdquo She decided right off to shift here The cityrsquos inherent acceptance and generosity moved her completely As she puts it ldquoI didnrsquot choose Bombay Bombay chose merdquolsquoI will forever cherish that fateful dayrsquos kindest actsrsquoBombay Police Riots August 18 1982It was a violent Wednesday 43 years ago Police riots spilled on the streets with more than 20000 constables fighting for labour issues demanding improved work conditions and the right to unionise What ensued was rampant arson looting and vandalismThen a collegian residing in Bandra who has since moved to Perth Niloufer Barjorji recalls ldquoIt was a very scary yet extremely special day caught in the crossfire of the police force rebelling I was on my way to St Xavierrsquos talking a lift with my dad As we passed through Dharavi the mayhem erupted Cops started rioting and crowds went crazy with no authority figures to stop the wild scenes Stuck daylong in our nonair conditioned car in the heat I felt ill As it happened I had my period Noticing me look pale and anxious a woman came down from her house asking if I needed to rest Taking us in after making tea and snacks she persuaded me to napldquoEvening brought no visible resolution Dad worried for our safety particularly mine as a young girl The occupant of the car parked beside us thoughtfully phoned his brother a short drive away requesting him to shelter us for the night ldquoThey were the sweetest people Sharing their dinner they insisted on giving us their bedroom they slept on floor mattresses Dad decided to leave at 4 the next morning The lady of the house woke earlier to serve tea and coaxed us to have breakfast but we hurried to leave I will forever cherish that fateful dayrsquos kindest acts the depth of concern shown by so many None of them known to usrdquolsquoNo hearing onesided accountsrsquoIndoPak War December 1965Optometrist Hemant Samani with his family radio File picIn an age rife with multiple media channels radio remains the constant companion of many Interviewing optometrist Hemant Samani and florist Kantibhai Sukhadia in adjoining Kalbadevi shops I discovered their charming everyday routine mdash swapping views on favourite shows ldquoAmeh radio paachhal paagal chhaiyye wersquore mad about radiordquo says Samani ldquoMy parents never missed KL Saigal songs I followed AFS Talyarkhan and Vijay Merchantrsquos sports commentaries During the 1965 IndoPak war my father switched to BBC for news of Lahore and Rawalpindi telling us lsquoNo hearing onesided accountsrsquordquo More polarised than pacifist we could do with such objectivity todayatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params