Mumbai: At the steps of the Gateway of India, nine years after the brutal attacks on the city of Mumbai, Chief Minsiter Devendra Fadnavis, Amitabh Bachchan, Prasoon Joshi and many others come together to speak to our city and to listen to its survivors in this unique memorial event directed by Feroz Abbas Khan and produced by Wizcraft International.
Organized by The Indian Express in partnership with Facebook, at the second edition of the Stories of Strength event, 26 survivors from all walks of life – the children of the victims of the 26/11 attacks — share with us their stories of resilience, of community, of an unshakable faith in humanity. We will hear from Divya Salaskar, Prasoon Joshi, Vice Admiral (Western Command) of the Indian Navy, Girish Luthra, Amitabh Bachchan and several as they share the stories of the strength that have most inspired them.
The memorial event is being held in association with Viacom18 and its channels MTV and Colors Infinity; PayPal, LIC and Centrum; supported by Taj Hotels.
“The attack on Parliament and 26/11 are the two events that have shaped the way modern India thinks of terrorism and violence. As a group that has been documenting a changing India for over 80 years, we recognised that we have rarely ever heard from those directly affected — the survivors — of 26/11. And from our interviews, we have been touched, inspired and awe struck at the courage, the positivity, the maturity and the large heartedness of each and every one of the survivors we interacted with. We realised that there are many inspiring stories that needed to be told, and it’s our role as a responsible news media group, to give voice to these remarkable individuals,” says AnantGoenka – Executive Director, The Indian Express Group.
“26/11 is a day for celebrating civic courage and remember those who fell and for all of India to learn from their resilience. Like last year, we join Indian Express to celebrate this brave community and express our gratitude.” said Ankhi Das – Director of Public Policy for India, South, & Central Asia for Facebook.
“Terror only hopes to establish the bluff that evil can be stronger than natural humanity that hate is mightier than love.It is now for each one of us to decide if we want ourchildren to accept this evil doctrine. Or, show our children that terror does not have a place in our hearts.” Said, legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan.
In a rare interview, Sachin Tendulkar, for the first time, speaks with former marine commando (MARCOS) Praveen Kumar, who took five bullets, lost a ear, made it out of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel alive to dream today, of climbing Mount Everest.
Musical performances by Amit Trivedi, Suresh Wadkar, Priyanka Barve, Shankar Mahadevan Academy, Indian Navy band and AmrutaFadnavis.