Three years after the Chabad House in south Mumbai was pulverised by terrorists, the Jewish Centre is yet to get a refurbished look and though the court case over renovating the site has been settled, the necessary permission from the civic body is still to come through.
Today, Chabad House, one of the targets during the November 2008 terror attacks, stands as a mute testimony to the three-day siege. The badly-damaged site is covered with bamboo-supported green cloth, awaiting a new look.
With security guards posted in the narrow lanes leading to the five-storey building, also called Nariman House, it is hard to miss the scars and silence that envelopes the centre which is otherwise located in a bustling area.
As one enters the building, the first floor, which had a kosher kitchen for preparing food for tourists, is now stacked with cement bags and construction materials, with contractors and labourers present around.
Walls of the second floor, housing a synagogue and a library, and the third floor, reserved for guests or tourists, are still riddled with bullet marks, a stark reminder of the havoc created by the heavily-armed terrorists.
The terror impact was even more pronounced on the fourth floor as almost every inch of the walls is pockmarked with bullets from both sides. The floorings have been removed.
On the fifth floor, official emissaries of the centre, the slain Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka, lived. Their then two-year-on son, Baby Moshe, had a miraculous escape, thanks to his Indian nanny Sandra.
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