The 5 Heroes of My life - Part 2

I spoke at the SICASA National Conference in Cochin on Dec 23. Part 2 of my talk

Back in your CA classes, or may be in your Class XII or perhaps in the first year of your college your teachers must have told you remarkable stories of courage of army-men as war heroes. But nothing, I repeat, nothing compares with the exceptional courage shown by this civilian on the night of 26/11, India’s worst day in modern times.

That night as the Maximum City was under siege and the Mumbai police froze, one man stood like Casablanca atop the burning deck. Karambir Kang; General Manager, Taj Hotel. For me, he is an all time hero. And this is why.

When terrorists took over the Taj, he was 40 kms away at Bandra. When he heard it he rushed to the hotel, terrorist fire notwithstanding; when he could have simply stayed back. During the 60 hour siege he worked non-stop, saving guest after guests. And he did it while he knew that his wife and children who lived in the 6th floor had lost out to the terrorists. He is reported to have spoken to his father in Bahrain at midnight and when asked to be brave reportedly told him, “How can you think I can leave? If it goes down, I will the last man there.”

He led from the front directing his team, the champion captain. The Front Office of the Hotel took the unprecedented step of calling up guests who were staying in the hotel but had gone out for work, telling them that the hotel was under attack and that they should not come back. These faceless men showed unmatched courage in a moment of extra-ordinary crisis at a time when others like some of our television journalists failed us. That a business group can nurture such extra-ordinary people is why I hold the Tata Group in high regard. I doff my hat at Karambir Khan.