9/11 nightmare: Learning to live with the loss

Mangalore, September 11: While people in the US offer tributes to those who died in the 9/11 blast ten years ago, an eerie silence prevails in the house of Hemanth Kumar at Puttur, Dakshina Kannada district. Hemanth was one of the victims of the 2001 terror strike.

Years may have passed by, yet Hemanth's parents and relatives are trying to cope with the loss-the loss of a lifetime. The family does not observe Hemanth's death anniversary at home, this in an attempt to keep overpowering emotions at bay. Hemanth's father Anand, who is a tailor, says that observing his death anniversary will only bring back painful memories.

Anand even implores the media to leave the family alone. "It's all over and what's gone is gone. We are trying to forget the past and get on with our lives," he says.

Hemanth, a village youth, had strived hard to scale greater heights in life. He was working for Marsh and McLennan, a client of Wipro Limited, on the 97th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre on that fateful day.

After graduation in 1995, Hemanth worked for a software firm in Bangalore and later joined Wipro in 1997. His job entailed travelling around the world. In July 2001, Hemanth arrived in New York. He was working as a database manager with Marsh and McLennan. Hemanth is one of the four Wipro employees who lost their lives in the 9/11 incident.