The 2008 Mumbai attacks shook the nation to the core and affected thousands of lives in ways that words can do no justice to. And yet, from the gut-wrenching tragedy of terrorism ruining the lives of innocent people, came unyielding courage and inspiration – and this woman’s story is a glorious example of it.
Humans of Bombay tells the story of a woman who lost her husband on 26/11 at a Mumbai railway station. And her journey through her loss and recovery is one that will fill you with pride – for women all around, for Indians and for the general fortitude of the human spirit.
The blissful life of a homemaker was thrown into chaos when her husband, who worked at the railway station, became one of the many victims of the 2008 bombings in Mumbai. Trying frantically to contact her husband only to have a stranger answer the phone and say “the person who’s phone this is, is dead… come claim the body” and eventually coming to terms with having lost her partner in life forever, was far from easy, but she knew that she was going to fight – for the sake of her two young daughters.
The government’s compensation money and a low-paying job at the railways couldn’t have done much for the hopes she had for her children’s future, and she knew that her 8th grade education would only get her so far in supporting them. So she stepped up and refused to let the tragedy ruin her and her daughters’ lives.
She took the job, started going to night school to complete her education and worked tirelessly to provide for her family for the next few years. Today, having cleared her high school qualifications, she has secured a promotion at the railways and more importantly, set an example of unrelenting courage for her daughters.
You can read her awe-inspiring story here:
The empty space that 2008 left in many Indians’ lives can never be filled, but people such as this lion-hearted woman remind us that even in the face of crippling tragedy, we can rise and we can shine.