A Jewish centre in Mumbai reopened on Tuesday, nearly six years after heavily armed militants stormed the building and killed six people inside during the 2008 attacks on the city. One of several high-profile targets assaulted by the gunmen, Chabad House in south Mumbai was left bullet-ridden and bereft of its directors Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivky, who were both slain in the siege.
They were among 166 people killed in the three-day onslaught in November 2008, which also targeted luxury hotels, a popular cafe and a train station. The refurbished five-storey building includes a synagogue, a cafeteria and a function room for the Jewish community. On the top two floors, due to be turned into a museum, damage from the bullets and grenades has been kept as reminders of the tragedy.
In the synagogue, candles mark the spot where Rabbi Holtzberg was shot dead, and pictures of him, his wife and their surviving young child adorn the stairwells. The rabbi's father, Nachman Holtzberg, described the opening as a "very special day" for him and his relatives, who were joined by rabbis from across Asia belonging to their orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement. "Everybody remembers the very terrifying day when there was the tragedy and everything stopped," he told reporters.
"This is the day that we can celebrate their lives and the message of light that they spread." Chabad House, tucked away down a narrow lane in the bustling area of Colaba market, was established as an open house for visiting Jews and the local community by the Holtzbergs after they arrived in Mumbai in 2003.
While they were among six people taken hostage in the centre and killed by the gunmen, their son, then aged two, was plucked to safety by his nanny. Local jeweller Chintan Sakariya, who witnessed the militants "showering bullets everywhere" in bloody scenes in 2008, told AFP he had a "mixed reaction" to the reopening. "They're coming back strongly and we support that," said Sakariya, who lives with his family close to the centre.
"But there's going to be a lot of inconvenience for local residents, a lot of security, a lot of blockades." Sakariya also wondered if the centre might be a target again given recent events in Gaza. "Just pray nothing happens this time around," he said. The $2.5 million museum is set to include a reconstruction of the Holtzbergs' apartment in its original place on the top floor, where people will be able to learn about Jewish ways of life. The rooftop, which has views of the militants' other targets in south Mumbai, will be turned into the city's first memorial for all those killed in the attacks.