By Zubaidah Nazeer

WEDNESDAY'S terrorist attacks in Mumbai may have rattled him, but Mr Deepak Shahdadpuri is not about to pack up and leave.

HELP: A policeman giving water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai. PICTURE: REUTERS
This comes from a man who stays just 200m away from the Taj hotel, one of two hotels raided by terrorists who took foreigners hostage.

They had gone to Mumbai to visit him and his wife after she gave birth to their second child three weeks ago.

Said the managing director of asset management company Baer Capital Partners: 'If, say, there are five more blasts and attacks in Mumbai over the next five months, I will consider leaving.

'You can't just be a coward and give in to the aims of these attackers and leave. This sort of thing doesn't happen all the time.'

Despite staying so close to the scene of one of the attacks, he told The New Paper that he was unaware they were taking place until his in-laws came back up to his fourth-storey apartment after leaving only five minutes earlier. They are staying in a hotel outside the area.

Said Mr Shahdadpuri: 'The security guards told them not to leave the house and stay indoors.'

They did not explain what was happening so the family switched on the television. The channels were flooded with news on it.

He said: 'Some said it was a gangland attack, others said it was a terrorist attack. We weren't sure, it was just confusing.'

But it hit home when they were jolted by two blasts - one around midnight and another just before 2am - which came from the Taj hotel area.

Said Mr Shahdadpuri: 'Both blasts shook our house. The second one was louder and my window rattled.'

His 2-year-old son, awakened by the second blast, was too excited to sleep when he heard helicopters hovering around their area.

But Mr Shahdadpuri was far from excited.

He said: 'I was getting more nervous when we realised that this was a much more coordinated attack and not only confined to one location.

'We were watching the news with disbelief. It was unreal because it was happening right in our backyard and everything seemed normal before.'

Son's cycling spot

The family takes walks around the Taj hotel driveway and it is also his son's favourite cycling spot.

Three days ago, he was at the Oberoi hotel, the other hotel where the attacks happened, for a business meeting.

The Oberoi is about 200m from his office.

When the second blast hit Taj hotel, he called a few of his 16-strong staff to check on the rest and ensure they are all right.

He said: 'I want to know whether everyone was safe. I also ordered the office shut the next day.'

He answered as many as 50 calls and more SMSes from concerned family and friends.

He had to switch his phone off at around 4am to sleep.

Things seemed to have calmed down by the time we spoke to him - about 21 hours after the first blast.

Late yesterday afternoon, he and his family went out for the first time since the attacks.

Describing the scene, he said: 'Roads are cordoned off. We see lots of uniformed men in green berets and policemen. There is a swarm of journalists and camera crew and smoke is billowing from a tower of the hotel.'

A video he sent us taken off his camera phone showed a horde of curious onlookers gathering outside the cordoned off area of the hotel and many policemen and army personnel stationed in the hotel compound.

The incident has jolted him to be more alert.

It was only a week ago that he felt relieved when the Taj hotel removed the metal detectors at their lobby.

He said: 'It was strange. They had it for weeks and when they removed it last week. I was relieved because it was such a hassle when we do go for meets. But now, I realise you can't take such things for granted.'

India has been hit by a series of serial bomb blasts this year in areas such as Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New Delhi, which have claimed more than 100 lives.

Despite this, he remained unfazed.

He said: 'Your life cannot revolve around fear. You just can't let these terrorists win and run you down.

'India is resilient, even after all these blasts. I will be extra vigilant in the coming days, but have full confidence in the authorities in India and the people.

'Life has to go on.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on 28 Nov 2008.