Kolkata: The day started in the usual way for Shankar Chakravarty, an Indian-origin scientist, living in Miami on September 11, 2001. He went to the office that day a bit earlier as the company he was working for had invited the staff members for breakfast.
They were having breakfast and engaging in small talks when suddenly the footage being shown live on the television kept at the corner of the lounge caught Chakravarty's notice. What he saw that day changed not only the perception of the world on terrorism but also left a permanent mark on the minds of every American citizen.
The live footage from New York showed a low-flying aeroplane over the city. "I thought something was not right. Why is it flying so low? Is it part of movie shooting?" Chakravarty told ETV Bharat. Even before he could understand what was happening, the aircraft rammed into one of the towers of the World Trade Centre.
As the smoke started billowing out of the tower, everyone including Chakravarty rushed to the radio set in the lounge. They came to know from the news that the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, had fallen victim to one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of the world.
As the reality was yet to sink into their minds, another aircraft rammed into the second tower of the World Trade Centre. Soon after the two towers collapsed. A smouldering heap of rubble, dotted with dead bodies, was all that was left of what was a glorious symbol of America's economic prosperity.
A dazed man, Chakravarty returned home. As the TV channels provided non-stop updates it dawned upon him that the scale of the attack was much larger than he thought. Apart from the World Trade Centre, two passenger aeroplanes also hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists had struck parts of the Pentagon, while one crashed at a field in Pennsylvania. About 3000 people lost their lives in the attack.
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"I wondered how the people of Miami remained so calm despite such a catastrophe," said Chakravarty. The memories of that day came to haunt him once again after a couple of years when he visited New York for work-related reasons.
As he walked past the place where the World Trade Centre once stood, a feeling of uneasiness gripped him and he quickly moved away. But that was not the last time when Chakravarty was reminded of the large-scale devastation caused by the attack.
He was flying from Baltimore to Atlanta in 2011-12. During the flight, he was having a casual conversation with a woman. He came to know that her family was also a victim of the terror attack. " She told me that her elder sister lost her husband in the terror attack. He was in the tower which was hit later and told his wife over the phone that there is no power in the building and they are trying to leave the spot by using the stairs in darkness," said Chakravarty.
That was the last time he spoke to his wife. He never returned home. Not even his remains were found. His son was only 14 that day and now he is a youth of 35. " Perhaps he too will take part in a ceremony in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack," said Chakravarty.
