Swinging between uncertainty & hope, families huddle at court, click loved ones

Mumbai: Standing behind an iron-grilled window outside the courtroom, he waved at them. She and her family, huddled together under an open arch at the waiting area, waved back. As they smiled and gestured at each other, she clicked away furiously on her cell phone camera.
On Monday afternoon, this is what passed for reunion between convicts of the 11/7 serial train blasts and their families waiting outside the Mumbai sessions court where arguments were on about the sentence.Nine years and a month have passed since those behind the blasts that claimed 188 lives were arrested. The look of delight on the faces of the 12 accused and the poise of their family members hardly betrayed the chilling consequences that lay ahead for the convicts and, consequently, their dependents.
It startled even Parveen Banu, 55, mother of convicts Faisal and Muzammil. “There was no sign of sorrow. They were smiling and looked happy. I guess they have left it to God,” she said. Their father Ataur Rahman was stoic. “If someone has taken life and death in his hands, it’s a mistake. But my sons aren’t scared of death.”
The conviction maybe a closure for the families who lost their dear ones but the ordeal continues for families of the accused. “We’ll appeal to the higher court. He’s innocent and we’ll bring him out,” said Yasmeen, the 35-year-old wife of Zameer Shaikh, her voice full of with hope. With two children and a joint family to look after, Yasmeen has been forced to pursue studies and take a teaching job.
The wife of Dr Tanveer Ansari, who’s been tagged as a key conspirator, was only 21 when she started running around collecting evidence to prove her husband’s innocence. “He was in the hospital on duty the day the blasts happened. It’s not just us being denied justice. By convicting the wrong person, you’re denying justice to the victim family too,” she said.
With two daughters and two sons, Saidunneesa, wife of Mohammed Ali Shaikh, has been struggling since her husband was arrested from their Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, home. Squatting in a corner with her sisters and brothers-in-law, she maintained: “My husband is innocent. Our neighbours and our family support us. Now it’s up to God.”
Thrown together by the trial, the individual families have become a close knit unit. They sat together, wiped each other’s tears, helped each other with meals and shared the photographs they had managed to click of the dozen on trial.
Farzana, married to Mohhammed Shafi, a footwear seller from Kolkata, has been camping in Mumbai for the last two days with her fingers crossed. She was 21 and had just had a baby when her husband was picked up. “If all fails, we’ll plead for mercy,” she insisted, her blood shot eyes peering through the veil.