Manisha was alone at home when the phone rang on Diwali eve in 2005. “Sunita is in Safdarjung Hospital with 80 per cent burns. Please come to hospital,” said the cold voice at the other end. The eight-year-old had no clue what happened. Sunita, her mother, had gone out for shopping with her father, Michael John, and brother Elwyn.
Also read: I do not want to be viewed as someone with special ability
A few minutes before the phone call, a bomb had gone off in the busy Sarojini Market in Delhi, killing 48 people. Michael’s body was lost in the debris and Elwyn was found dead on a desolate roof. Sunita died in the Safdarjung Hospital after two months.
Manisha’s sufferings had only started. The tragedy of losing everyone she had was followed by the long trail of official applications and court hearings. It took seven years to get the ex gratia announced by the government. Since the body of her father was not recovered, he was declared missing. Social worker Ashok Randhawa helped her with the procedures.
Manisha, 19, has been living with her grandparents, Saleena and Bhagwan Dass, after the tragedy. Saleena cannot move because of her troubled knees and Dass has undergone heart surgery. Most of Manisha’s childhood was spent in hospitals or at home with the dogs and parrots her father left behind. “These dogs are my best friends,” she said.
Also read: Loud noises still bother us
After finishing school, she enrolled in a hotel management course, and wants to become a chef. “After completing my three-year course, I want to work in an international chain of hotels,” she said.
Manisha hates meeting television reporters or attending the yearly commemoration of the Sarojini Nagar blast. “The last 11 years taught me a lot,” she said. “I am now beginning a new innings. Afresh to conquer the world.’’
