THere too, total professionalism reigned. Nurses, guards, doctors, aides, everyone pitched in to help, working with feverish energy. News spread that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be visiting later in the evening. There was a brief pause from work; doctors and nurses glanced at each other, went back to work.
Outside, the battle between good and evil raged on. Calls keep coming in from colleagues, from our newsroom, from friends: Hostages being held in numerous locations... fresh firing at Taj... flames break out at Oberoi... blasts heard at Trident...
Standing in that room, the stench of raw blood strong in our nostrils, and listening to this steady stream of commentary, you wonder: Is this what war looks like? Is there worse that could possibly happen?
Outside these walls, seemingly rational people are losing it. They want heads to roll, even if they are not clear whose heads those should be. Blame ping-pongs among politicians, between the political class and the police and intelligence agencies. Ratan Tata blames the government; the government blames neighboring powers that shall be nameless.
Inside the hospital, though, all is calm good sense. Staff nurses move among the wounded, tending to their needs. Doctors stitch, bandage, take pulses, inject medication. Citizens line up to donate blood. Already, we are told, donors have provided enough for two full days -- but Mumbai has more blood to give, to share.
In this photo: Prime Minister Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi visit victims at JJ Hospital
Photograph: Getty Images
Also read: Terror strikes at Mumbai's heart
Advertisement
