The Real Hero

No one in India can forget 26/11. One of our leading hotels – The Taj was one of the eight places in Mumbai, which were attacked by terrorists.

These attacks began on Wednesday, 26 November and lasted until Saturday, 29 November 2008, killing 164 people and wounding at least 308. In the Taj, 31 people died and 28 were hurt.  Yet, the guests still remember & appreciate the courage, dedication & sacrifice of the hotel staff that made the Taj stool tall as a pure symbol of supreme & wholehearted services.

On November 26, 2008, many guests were present at Hotel Taj.  Around 9:30 pm, people inside the hotel heard sound similar to that of fireworks and thought that it was coming from nearby wedding. But the sound was from first gunshots by terrorists who were entering in the Taj.

The staff of the hotel quickly realized something was wrong. They immediately locked the doors and turned off the lights. Guests were asked to lie down quietly on the floors under the tables and were asked to switch off their mobile phones.

The terrorists were rampaging through out the hotel; hurling grenades, firing automatic weapons, and tearing the place apart. In such a critical situation, The Taj employees were trying to look very calm and were serving people and asking for their needs.

The staff of the restaurant and banquet were trying to rush people at safer locations. Telephone operators and guards were doing the duty of alerting guests to lock doors and not to step out. Kitchen staff formed human shields to protect guests during evacuation attempts. The eleven employees of Taj, Mumbai sacrifices their lives while helping their guests to escape.

It was the dedication of employees, their desire to protect guests with quick decision making will always be remembered by the guests. 

Employees of the Taj Mumbai’s gave a new meaning to the definition of Service during the terrorist attack.  But how it was possible? Why the employees were not scared? Why they sacrificed their lives while rescuing their guests? How they were so calm and quiet during the attack?

It is due to India’s ancient culture of hospitality, where we believe that Guest is like a God (Athithi Devo Bhavo); the values of the House of Tata; the organizational culture of Tata group where employees are trained to do their best for their guests; their customer centric approach which make employees even sacrifice their lives for the safety of their guests.