5 yrs after 11/7 Mumbai serial blasts, comatose victim talking to family

MUMBAI: A glassy-eyed Parag Sawant, with a deep dent on his forehead and a food pipe fixed to his throat, is an unforgettable face of the trauma left behind by the train blasts that hit Mumbai on July 11, 2006. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the serial terror attacks, 32-year-old Parag's miraculous recovery to a fully conscious state emerges as a story of hope and a testament to Mumbai's undying spirit in the face of adversity.
At one time, he had been written off as a coma patient. Parag was in a Churchgate-Virar train when a bomb went off near Mira Road, leading him to spend nearly two years in listlessness. In 2008, he uttered a few words. Only a few months ago he started talking and even joking with others.
Parag's wife and parents take turns to ensure that someone is by his bedside at Hinduja Hospital in Mahim every day, their faith that he will improve holding them in good stead.
"I have had my breakfast and am well," Parag told his mother in Marathi over the phone on Saturday as he instructed her to ensure that his five-year-old daughter Prachiti studied properly. From his hospital bed on the eighth floor, he was seen joking with staffers about the tasty breakfast he had on Saturday morning. He easily broke into smiles and eagerly exchanged pleasantries.
The 11/7 serial blasts left 188 dead and 817 injured. Parag, who suffered extensive brain trauma, was rushed to the Bhaktivedanta Hospital at Mira Road and later shifted to Hinduja, where he has remained since.
He was in a vegetable-like state when Prachiti was born. After emerging from his coma in 2008, he mainly uttered the word 'aai'. His wife Priti told TOI that Parag has been talking and relating to the family properly for a few months.
It's been such a journey of trauma that the family finds it difficult to exactly remember events. Calling his recovery a "miracle", father Jayprakash, who works in the Mumbai docks, said Parag has reached this point in his healing thanks to everyone's collective blessings and God's will. "We are confident that he will be able to walk and return home soon," he said.
Jayprakash said the city has moved on in the past five years, but life was altered forever for victims like them on July 11, 2006. "My wife and I were at a stage when we thought we had seen our children stabilize, but the bomb blast changed everything," he said. Jayprakash starts his day at 6 am in Bhayander, from where he proceeds to visit Parag every morning. He is later replaced at Parag's bedside by his wife. Jayprakash is two months away from retirement and worried about the family's finances.
His optimism about his son's recovery turns into disdainful anger when reminded that another anniversary of the blasts has arrived. He said he could hurl the choicest abuses at the government for its lack of will in bringing the accused to book. Jayprakash said former MP Kirit Somaiya has been the only notable person consistently supporting them.
Somaiya, along with 50 victims and their family members, plans to meet governor K Sankaranarayanan on Monday to demand justice for the 11/7 blast victims. "It's been five years, but the judicial process is still stuck. We want to question why the train blasts case receives lesser priority than the 26/11 terror attacks," he said. Somaiya said he recently spoke to Parag and was heartened by his recovery.
Doctors have put Parag's progress down to his prolonged medical treatment, rehabilitation and care by family and staffers. "He can express himself and responds a little," said Hinduja Hospital director Dr G B Daver, who refrained from saying that Parag was talking normally. "He's recovered a little neurologically and has little orientation, but is unable to manage himself and needs physiotherapy," he said.
For the Sawants, the end of each day brings hopes of a tomorrow when Parag will return to his good old days.