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StyleSpeak By Wendell Rodricks ARE WE SAFE HERE? The flames flew out of the Taj hotel In Bombay (will always be Bombay to me; not Mumbai) were also searing my heart in Colvale as I sat glued to television well past 2 a.m. The Taj. We simply called it that. "See you at the Taj". "Meet me at the Oberoi". Two places that are home for most people in Mumbai and for that matter, the rest of India. I was sitting with renowned thespian Victor Banerjee at my shop sipping a chilled vodka while his wife Maya shopped the morning after the Taj/Oberoi takeover by terrorists. Drowning our depression. Seriously, it felt like our homes, not just the Taj, were under siege. No one will comprehend the emotion. The Taj hotel is a part of our lives. We stayed there. We had so many fashion shows there. Conducted many business meetings at the Shamiana coffeshop. Enjoyed Viennoise coffee ice cream in the Sea Lounge. Danced in the Crystal Room. Discoed till dawn one floor below. Showed fashion in the Ball room. Had hors d'oeuvres in the Rendezvous rooftop restaurant in the new wing. And now, here was this awful fire spewing out of a hotel that was a part of our dreams. As a young boy, I watched wealthy society people emerge from it's glass doors. It was a world away from the middle class chawl I lived in at Mahim at the time. One day, I said to myself, I hope I can see the interiors of this hotel. God, fate and luck smiled on me kindly. In ten years, the Taj became a part of my life. Like so many Bombay golden dreams, the city looked at my God-given talent and swept me from no one to someone. Someone in the Taj no less. It's amazing when the glassdoors swish open with a "Good evening Mr. Rodricks". And now it is burning. As is the Oberoi. All those shows in the Regal Room. I saw my first Yves Saint Laurent show there. And Pierre Cardin. Fashion folk regularly dine at India Jones or lunch at Frangipani. So many memories…….. Places now infested with terrorists. People who arrived in boats and held Bombay to hostage. What a disaster! Where is our security? Our Coast Guard? Where were they? All those bombs and guns. Certainly, some terrorists were hotel guests who had checked in a few days prior, with suitcases laden with explosives. Suitcases are not scanned at hotels. They should be. I have checked in with five large "never scanned" cases laden with fashion show clothes. They could well be filled with bombs and guns. Sitting here in Goa, makes one wonder. All these hotels sitting like ducks waiting to be terrorized. When Security checked my car at the Marriott in Miramar I told them that if ever there was an attack it would come from the sea. A long coastline of luxury hotels. Taj, Hyatt, Leela. All probable targets waiting to ruin our Goan New Year. How do we fight this? How can one detect hate or terrorism on a security screen? It is a sad fact of the modern world. Terrorists are here to stay. What we should control is a backlash. We should not attack the community we presume set off this terror. That will drag India to the dark ages. We must control our emotions and be responsible citizens. This is no time for retribution and revenge. Two weeks ago, at Goa airport I was telling a friend how easy it is to blow up any Indian airport. All you need is an e-ticket and matching ID card. You entreat Departures. Make excuses ("Waiting for my wife/friends/business colleagues") not to scan your baggage. Then leave your baggage in the passenger seating area. Walk down a flight of stairs and breeze out through "Arrivals". BOOM! Bags need to be screened outside the airport. Not inside! I am sure there are many security measures to be implemented to avoid terror attacks. Please Goa do it. Do it now! Do it before we go up in flames. Forget about who is doing it. Just concentrate on securing the peace of Goa. We need more Coast Guard and Navy patrols. We need an incorrupt police and administration. We need more information gathering. We need security for Goans. We need to ensure that "the Taj" does not happen in our beloved Goa. It will be a pity to say later "We swam there". "We danced there". "We watched sunsets there". "We got married there". "Our children played there". "My grandmother sat in the waves as part of her summer cure there". Where is "there"? Today it is Bombay, Delhi, New York, Madrid, Paris. Tomorrow, 'there' will be 'here'! ---------- The column above appeared in the December 2008 issue of Goa Today magazine =====