By Sheela Narayanan

IT WAS not the telephone call Ms Shabina wanted to get on the morning of Nov 27.

Her husband, a senior executive at Unilever Asia, was in Mumbai and staying at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel when the gunmen attacked and held some of the patrons hostage.

Ms Shabina, who declined to give her full name, said: "He called me around 2.30am and said he could hear gunfire and a fire had broken out near his room.

"Somehow, he managed to escape but he left his passport and other belongings in his room. He was very shaken."

Unilever Asia's spokesman Sher Mazari confirmed with tabla! that its senior executives were at the Taj with their chief executive officer Patrick Cescau and CEO-elect Paul Polman.

"They are all safe and accounted for," he said, declining to reveal where they are currently located.

Ms Shabina, who moved to Singapore in January this year and calls herself a "hardcore Mumbaikar", was angry and frustrated that her hometown was the victim of yet another attack - its second this year.

"Why does Mumbai have to bear the brunt of it? Each time there is an attack, Mumbai has taken it on the chin. When will it stop?" she asked.

Her reaction was no different from the other Indian expatriates who live in Singapore. Mr Ranjit Sangitrao's family home is located less than 200m behind the Oberoi Trident hotel, the second hotel that came under attack.

He told tabla! his family heard the gunshots and explosions at the hotel.

The 25-year-old MBA student has lived in Singapore for the last 11/2 years and was feeling very anxious and helpless as he watched the situation unfold on TV.

"This was unprecedented. They were shooting at crowds and throwing grenades. This is something you see happening in Kashmir," he said.

And of course questions are coming thick and fast about how such a huge tragedy could have happened.

Said events organiser Geetha Jai: "With all these attacks around the country, you have to ask what is happening with the security, what is the Indian government doing about this?"

There is no doubt though that Mumbai will be back on its feet very quickly.

"That is how Mumbaikars are," said financial planner Manjeevi Kadam.

Singapore hostage at Oberoi Hotel

ONE Singaporean, believed to be a woman, is being held hostage at the Oberoi Hotel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that the Chinese Singaporean managed to contact the family members here, who then alerted the ministry on the morning of Nov 27. "As far as we understand, the Singaporean has not been harmed," said Mr Jai Sohan, director, Consular Directorate, at a media briefing.

The MFA made arrangements for the family to fly to Mumbai and is working with the Indian authorities to secure the hostage's release. The Singapore Government has also offered help to their Indian counterparts.

The hostage was staying at the hotel where between 100 and 200 guests and workers were trapped with 10 to 12 militants and is believed to be one of some 20 nationalities being held by the terrorists.

There were also 13 Singaporeans stranded in the hotel and around the vicinity. The MFA said it has not received any reports of any Singaporean casualties.

There are about 115 known Singaporeans in Mumbai who registered with the Singapore mission in the city. The MFA managed to contact 111 of them and is trying to get in touch with the other four.

Numbers you can call:

• Singapore Consulate-General in Mumbai
  Tel: +91-22-22043205, +91-22-22043209
  Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  Tel: 6379-8800, 6379-8855
  E-mail: mfa_duty_officer@mfa.gov.sg
• The High Commission of India, Singapore
  Gyan Singh, Second Secretary (Press, Information and Culture)
  Tel: 6238-2549 or 8383-6282