Children of 11/7: 'I cry sometimes'

Part I: Children of 11/7: 'Papa was the best'

I don't celebrate birthdays any more. I don't like it. I used to distribute chocolates in school earlier. I didn't do it this year," says Gaurav, 13, conclusively, with a shy smile.

The last 12 months have made him look at life differently it seems.

He is not the only one.

His brother Diven -- only 18 -- stopped studying. He has joined the family's diamond business which has an office at Panchratna building near Opera House in south Mumbai. And he has also become a father figure for Gaurav and the third brother, Kumar, 15.

Diven advises Kumar to study hard for his SSC school-leaving exams this year. "I tell him I gave up studies; you should not."

He also intervenes when the two of them fight. That was something his father did too... Before a bomb tore apart a train in Mahim station on July 11, 2006 and took him away. The blast killed Mavji Patel instantly. And that night their life changed forever.

The family has shifted from a flat in Goregaon, a northern Mumbai suburb, to another flat in the same neighbourhood. Now, they stay together in a joint family, with Prakash, Mavji's brother and his family.

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"I cry sometimes and stop when someone enters the room," Diven says quietly. "I have seen my mother cry at night."

His mother Ramila, 37, sits quietly in the room, watching her sons closely. But there is no sadness in the room. The family seems to have picked up the threads of their life.

Gautam has just returned home from after tuitions. He is now furiously whispering and giggling with his cousins, who are 13 and six. Kumar is not at home. Diven explains that Gaurav is the naughtiest, while Kumar is shy.

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But Diven is more mature than his years. He seems to have grown up in a hurry. He is already engaged to a girl called Poonam living a few neighbourhoods away in Malad. "I was engaged when I was a child. That was custom in those days. My father and her father were friends. I will get married after about three years, when I settle down. But I feel bad that the person who arranged my engagement will not be there for my wedding," he says.

The thought makes him go back in time. "My dad and I would have lunch at 10 am everyday. Then we would leave home together -- I would go to the bus stop to go to college, and he would go to the station," he says.

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"Gaurav was the closest to my dad," Diven continues. "But my father was my life."

His uncle enters the room and requests the interview be wrapped up.

Ramila needs to get ready, as she is going to their hometown Palanpur, Gujarat, for her husband's first death anniversary. Mavji Patel's last rites had been conducted there. The boys will stay back in Mumbai, and distribute clothes to the poor.

Moments later, the Patel household breaks into prayer. A devotional hymn blares out of a speaker, and sounds of clapping can be heard. While the adults pray, the children race out of the house, and get ready to play with their friends in the playground below.

Text: Ronjita Kulkarni | Image: Above, Diven and Gaurav Patel; Below: Kumar and Gaurav | Photograph: Reuben N V