26/11: Stories of Strength – An Initiative by The Indian Express

MUMBAI:
To mark 10 years of the most horrifying 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, The Indian Express hosted their third memorial event saluting people who lost their lives, survivors and the families of the victims, for their bravery and courage at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.

The soul-filled event was executed by Wizcraft International and directed by renowned theatre and film director, Feroz Abbas Khan. The evening had valuable insights by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, Amitabh Bachchan and Javed Akhtar who delivered a tribute to the Spirit of Mumbai. The “Stories of Strength” had some of the finest performances by celebrated performers Kaushiki Chakraborty, Neeti Mohan, Harshdeep Kaur, Rahul Deshpande, Mahesh Kale, Javed Ali, Ani Choying Drolma, Shivam Mahadevan with the Shankar Mahadevan Music Academy, flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, composer and pianist Merlin D’souza, the Nritarutya Dance Company led by Mayuri and Madhuri Upadhya, the Mumbai Police Band and the Indian Navy Band. The event was hosted by Gitika Gaju Dhar.

Stories of Strength were presented through a series of poignant films which captured the commitment, strength and perseverance of each of the victims and their families. The father of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan delivered a rousing address and the young Anjali Gupta presented a poem about Together we can change. The Indian Express also released a compilation of these great stories in a book titled: Stories of Strength.

Corporate leaders Anant Goenka, Executive Director, Indian Express, Ankhi Das, Director Policy for South Asia and Sudhanshu Vats, Group Chief Executive Officer of Viacom18 spoke briefly about the need to counter terrorism and shared their commitment to the cause of Unity and Oneness.

Wizcraft ensured end-to-end management with high production values to be able to reach out to the millions in the country, smoothly. While amazing performances startled the audiences, the event witnessed the presence of some of the biggest names in the industry like Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Lok Sabha MP Poonam Mahajan, BJP leader Shaina NC, Indian Hotels Company Limited Managing Director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal, Shweta Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Centrum Group Executive Chairman Jaspal Bindra, and diplomats from various countries.

Highlighting the various performances, Feroz Abbas Khan said “We needed to pay homage to the victims, share the pain of the survivors and stand in solidarity with families of the victims. We also needed to convey that we as a nation and democracy are one in our resolve to defeat terror.

Speaking on behalf of the co-founders Viraf Sarkari, Andre Timmins and the team, Director and Co-founder of Wizcraft International, Sabbas Joseph shared “There are important stories that we as a people have learnt from 26/11. The victims, the survivors and the martyrs need to be remembered and celebrated for their sacrifice and commitment to the country. Supporting the initiative led by Indian Express and directed by Feroz Abbas Khan is a humble effort to remind ourselves of our continuing commitment, lest we forget”
The event be broadcast on Colors TV on December 9th at 1 pm