Mumbai terror attacks: Thanks and celebration amid the smell of death

They witnessed the horror and faced a ruthless enemy. Now exhausted commandos are feted as heroes. Vikram Dodd reports from Mumbai as India emerges from its nightmare and the grim search for bodies begins in the majestic Taj Mahal hotel, now little more than a smoke-blackened ruin

The national nightmare was over. After four days of witnessing terrorists inflict mayhem and cold-blooded mass murder in Mumbai, for ordinary Indians there was just one way to mark the end of such an atrocity. Those fortunate not to have lost loved ones decided to celebrate.

They came to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, once a luxurious venue frequented by foreigners and India's elite, and which had become a killing ground. The people of Mumbai needed to see for themselves what was left of one of the city's most famous landmarks.

Resting on board six red buses outside, they found the elite commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG), known as the Black Cats. Now unshaven and exhausted, their eyes were heavy from lack of sleep, their minds still full of the horror they had just experienced during the bloody battle they had waged against the terrorists in the hotel's maze of corridors and rooms.

They were feted like pop stars. Their hands were shaken and showers of petals were thrown by grateful citizens. And, after facing death and a siege that claimed two of their colleagues, they smiled for the first time since the attacks in response to the adulation of their country. They signed autographs and posed for pictures in a carnival-like atmosphere.

One commando, who did not want to be named, said he had come face to face with seven terrorists during four days of action, and had shot two dead. He thought they were aged between 22 and 25. 'They did not speak, they were just firing. It was very dangerous.'

Other sections of the Indian military and police also joined in the mood of celebration. Sniffer dogs and their handlers, still wearing bullet-proof jackets, posed for commemorative pictures, lining up in a row of five with the fire-blackened front of the Taj's 106-year-old facade as a backdrop.

Away from the celebrations, inside the Taj, the grim search for bodies was under way. Inside the security cordons, it seemed as if the closer one got to the Taj itself, the darker the mood was. Just a few feet from its front, the acrid smell of four days of burning fires was almost overpowering. Officials and rescue workers wore masks to cope with the stench.

A glimpse into the interior showed tables set for dinners that were never finished and a costly red vase still perched intact on a table, despite the carnage that had erupted around it. On the front of the Old Taj building, hardly a window was unbroken, hardly an arched window frame left unblackened.

In front of the entrance to the elaborate lobby, ambulance after ambulance pulled up during the day and waited for its grim cargo as another victim was brought out. At least 35 bodies were found yesterday morning; the hotel had become a temporary tomb for some of its guests from Wednesday night.

Among those dealing with the aftermath were some who had been there from the start. Fire chief Kaitain D'Souza was called to the Taj on Wednesday evening, to be faced by terrorists throwing grenades at anyone who approached them.

D'Souza, a station officer, recalled the past four days and the horrific scenes he had witnessed: 'At the beginning there was no fire. They set fires at different places to divert the attention of the commandos. Some people locked their rooms because of the terrorists. They might be burnt because of the fire.'

At 3am on Thursday two foreign guests at the Taj were trapped by fires engulfing the sixth floor. The fire and smoke had left them fearing that they would suffocate to death. 'They were screaming for help,' D'Souza said. Eventually firefighters managed to rescue them using ladders.

Yesterday, the waves of the Arabian Sea were lapping gently, causing small fishing boats to bob up and down, just yards from the front of the Taj. Indian security officials say the terrorists used this route to land by boat in Mumbai before launching their attack.

Away from Mumbai, the country began cremating its dead. Laid to rest yesterday were security force members killed fighting the gunmen.

In Bangalore, commandos formed an honour guard for the flag-draped coffin of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed in the fighting at the Taj. 'He gave up his own life to save the others,' the highest-ranking Indian security official, J K Dutt, said.

Also laid to rest was the counter-terrorism chief, Hemant Karkare, killed after being shot in the chest while directly confronting the terrorists.

Indian television channels were dominated by pictures of honour guards for senior officers killed and pictures of grieving families. These were the first of the dead to have funerals. India will have to endure the process again and again in the coming days. Perhaps it was wise for ordinary Indians to celebrate while they could.

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