Mumbai: A day after Mumbai marked 15 years since the worst terrorist attack in its history, a European country on Monday sought to remind of its own brush with terror through a book by a Mumbaikar, Nidhi Chaphekar.
The former Jet Airways flight attendant survived a bomb blast at Brussels airport on March 22, 2016. First visuals of the burnt, bleeding 41-year-old Chaphekar slumped in a chair in the departure lounge appeared on the front pages of newspapers worldwide, making her the face of the tragedy.
The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings at the airport and a metro station in Brussels that claimed 35 lives.
On Monday, the Consulate of Belgium hosted the launch of the Marathi edition of Chaphekar’s book, ‘Unbroken’. As she signed copies, Chaphekar recalled her painstaking journey towards physical and mental rehabilitation. “I was a shadow of my former self, having lost 80% of my memory. In fact, I can scarcely remember how my children grew up. My husband counselled me to write everything down. So I began to scribble personalised notes variously in a diary, register and on loose pages. I chronicled my experience of overcoming every adversity — including 23 surgeries and thoughts of suicide. I learnt to lift a pen and to walk again, one step at a time,” she said.
Chaphekar has to contend with medical procedures as well as the fact that she is practically unemployed after a career spanning 25 years. “Well, Jet Airways has closed down, and prospective employers tend to consider me a victim, not a survivor of the blast. They are wary of my medical issues too. I still have shards of metal in my eyes. Moreover few companies are willing to hire a lady over 45 years of age who only has a BA degree,” she said.
A gradual metamorphosis as corporate speaker and motivational expert has led her to counsel white collar executives and juvenile delinquents. She even gathered the courage to testify at the trial of the attackers, who were served varying sentences of 10-30 years up to life in prison.
Consul general Frank Geerkens remarked how the book launch almost coincided with the 26/11 anniversary. Chaphekar’s family — husband Rupesh, daughter Vriddhi and sister Jolly Toor — and Dr Darius Soonawala, who treated and motivated her, came in for praise. When her turn came in Chaphekar’s acknowledgements, flight captain Sangeeta Joshi shyly half-raised her hand and told the audience: “This day is about her not me.”
The former Jet Airways flight attendant survived a bomb blast at Brussels airport on March 22, 2016. First visuals of the burnt, bleeding 41-year-old Chaphekar slumped in a chair in the departure lounge appeared on the front pages of newspapers worldwide, making her the face of the tragedy.
The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings at the airport and a metro station in Brussels that claimed 35 lives.
On Monday, the Consulate of Belgium hosted the launch of the Marathi edition of Chaphekar’s book, ‘Unbroken’. As she signed copies, Chaphekar recalled her painstaking journey towards physical and mental rehabilitation. “I was a shadow of my former self, having lost 80% of my memory. In fact, I can scarcely remember how my children grew up. My husband counselled me to write everything down. So I began to scribble personalised notes variously in a diary, register and on loose pages. I chronicled my experience of overcoming every adversity — including 23 surgeries and thoughts of suicide. I learnt to lift a pen and to walk again, one step at a time,” she said.
Chaphekar has to contend with medical procedures as well as the fact that she is practically unemployed after a career spanning 25 years. “Well, Jet Airways has closed down, and prospective employers tend to consider me a victim, not a survivor of the blast. They are wary of my medical issues too. I still have shards of metal in my eyes. Moreover few companies are willing to hire a lady over 45 years of age who only has a BA degree,” she said.
A gradual metamorphosis as corporate speaker and motivational expert has led her to counsel white collar executives and juvenile delinquents. She even gathered the courage to testify at the trial of the attackers, who were served varying sentences of 10-30 years up to life in prison.
Consul general Frank Geerkens remarked how the book launch almost coincided with the 26/11 anniversary. Chaphekar’s family — husband Rupesh, daughter Vriddhi and sister Jolly Toor — and Dr Darius Soonawala, who treated and motivated her, came in for praise. When her turn came in Chaphekar’s acknowledgements, flight captain Sangeeta Joshi shyly half-raised her hand and told the audience: “This day is about her not me.”