Who can forget the scene of the Taj
Hotel on fire. Dark smoke billowing from the magnificent building. The T.V.
channels outdid themselves and brought the scenes of carnage into our homes.
Other than the Indian viewers who
were spellbound and horrified, the Pak handlers of the terrorists were
thrilled. They were having a minute to minute running commentary of the mayhem
they had unleashed in Mumbai.
They could warn the jihaddis. “Another
fire truck has pulled up, more police have arrived, commandos are landing on
the roof!’’ The visuals and voice over was provided by the exuberant TV
reporters! The handlers were most grateful!
This was the evening of 28 November
2008 when murder, mayhem and havoc was unleashed in Mumbai.
Ten terrorists came by sea from
Karachi to Mumbai, heavily armed with intent to terrorise, in other words
kill!
And dammit! They succeeded!
One of the targets was the world
famous, 103 year old, Taj Hotel. A beautiful and world famous hotel.
That night there were about 500
registered guests, another 500 or so were partying in the various banquet
halls. A perfect target for terrorists.
Around 9 o'clock that evening, four
terrorists entered the lobby. They resorted to random firing and throwing
grenades.
Panic everywhere! It didn't take long
to figure out what was happening. It was a terrorist attack!
The Staff sprang into action no
matter where they were, they locked all doors. The first concern of every Staff
member was the safety of the guests.
It should be mentioned here that at
moments of life threatening situations, panic grips all animals. The most
primordial and natural urge to survive kicks in, run to safety!
The human mind is also conditioned to
this. It needs no training. Remember Pavlov’s dog?
So, theoretically the Staff would be
the first to flee. They knew all the exits.
We saw such scenes in the movie
Titanic. Even the code of chivalry," women and children first" was
ignored.
Nothing like this happened at the Taj
that night. The Staff knew they had a duty to the guests and the Hotel. They
knew the corridors and exits. They escorted the guests to safety!
Once outside, the police and
firemen took the guests to safety. The Staff was also safe.
What did they do? They could have
stayed out there, safe from the mayhem. But no! They re-entered the hotel to
help more guests to safety. Knowingly and willingly they put their lives on the
line!
Some did die.
The telephone operators, all girls,
were the first to be evacuated to safety.
They saw what the male Staff had done,
re-entered the hotel. The girls did the same!
They went straight back to their
posts. Throughout the night they were the communication hub of the Hotel.
They helped the guests
telephonically. "Put your lights out. Lock your door. Remove the keycard
from the holder. Make no noise. Nothing will happen to you”. They kept up the
chatter all night long. A soft and soothing voice of a lady
to boost moral, is so important at times of extreme stress. They stayed there
all night.
That takes an iron self discipline,
guts and clear thinking.
I'll go down with the ship, but I'll
not abandon my post!
That is attitude and loyality!
The behaviour of the Staff can only
be described as "above and beyond the call of duty."
The presence of mind, clear thinking,
the calm and composure of the entire Staff is commendable.
It would have been easy for the Staff
to escape. But not ONE abandoned his/her post!
The uppermost thought in every Staff
member's mind was, “Look after your guest!”
It says volumes about the training
the Taj imparts to the Staff!
This dastardly and cowardly attack on
Mumbai must rank as one of the most outrageous terror actions in the world.
The 9-11 attack on the World Trade
Centre in New York, the attack on the Charlie Hedbo office in Paris, with
similar attacks in London, Indonesia have been the cause of concern and study.
Physiologist, sociologist, human
behaviour scientist have probed and tried to analyse the motivation of the
terrorist and suicide bombers.
At the same time the behaviour of the
victims is being analysed. Numerous reasons have been cited. The studies
continue.
Research has also been conducted on
the victims, the targets. Always innocent citizens. The elderly, women and
children. They are the most vulnerable and in a position to offer lease
resistant. Sittings ducks! Ideal targets for the terrorist. The targets are
eating in restaurants, dancing in discotheques, commuters on their way to work.
All un-armed and unaware. They will never offer any resistance, certainly no
heroics.
So, the behaviour of the Taj Staff
has everyone asking questions.
The Taj Hotel terror attack has
become a major case study at Harvard University.
As mentioned earlier, not one Staff
abounded the Hotel. They stay and helped the guest escape and in the process,
many died.
It was this attitude of the Staff,
enmass, that was being scrutinised and analysed. It intrigued and confused the
experts.
After years of interviews, both with
the Staff and survivors, who could give a firsthand account of that night,
certain facts emerged.
What showed up were three recruitment
strategies of the Taj Management which were pin pointed as the reasons for the Staff’s
behaviour.
Taj didn’t recruit from the big
cities. They recruited from the smallest cities where traditional cultures and
values still held the family together.
They didn’t recruit toppers. In
looking for staff, they spoke to the school master to find out who were
respectful of their parents, elders and teachers.
Taj taught their employees to be Ambassadors
of their guests to the Hotel and not Ambassadors of the Hotel to the guests.
A few lessons to be learnt here;
Recruiting from small cities will
yield a crop of loyal workers, rooted to old fashioned values and traditions.
Toppers won’t give you the best
results. It is common practice for corporate houses to raid universities for
the pick of the litter. A rethink of this practice may be in order. Being a
topper in school or college may not translate into being a topper in the
commercial world.
Give a reason to the workers/staff to
win over their loyalty. Inculcate a sense of belonging and pride to be a part
of a bigger Organisation.
In closing I would like to quote from
Guru Rabindranath Tagore,
There are men who are easily first
and those who come decently after!