The attack we faced on 26/11 was not just on an attack on Taj, it was an attack on Mumbai and in a way on India. I have said from that first day, what it did achieve was that it united all of us in one common cause. We cannot bring back the lives of the people who died in that unfortunate terrible act. We can only condole their families and express our grief – those lives were lost not just in this hotel, but with the police, commandos and innocent people at the railway station. It was an attack on a peaceful community, a city with different religions and was indiscriminate. Apart from those who died, those who were injured received equally the kind of personal attention from selfless doctors, from citizens whom we never know, people who carried them to the hospital and they did this because it was an attack on the city.

Here in the Taj we had tremendous and unprecedented display of spirit, a spirit to protect our guests, to protect each other and we have given a fitting tribute to those who were there that night. After the event took place when we went through the property, walking over crushed glass and charred doors it was as though a war had taken place and indeed a war took place here. It was that same spirit that has converted this part of building from what it was, by working day and night, so that we could open today.

By opening today the Tower block, we send a strong message that within a month, we are up and running and that this hotel would take its place as one of the marks of the city. When we open the heritage wing, and we will do whatever it takes to get back its old glory, it would be more modern or better than it was and that it will be the glory and icon of the city again. And when we do, we will send a stronger message, a message that strongly resonates among all of us - that we can be hurt but we cannot be knocked down.

The Taj I hope will stand for another 100 years or more and stand as a living tribute to the tenacity of our people –both in the city and this company and that we can rise to any occasion and that spirit is something that I like to pay tremendous tribute to all those people in the hotel that have paid with their lives, to all those who played a role in saving lives and returning this hotel to what it is. My true debt of gratitude goes to all of them.

At 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, 21st December, the first guests, since that tragic night of 26/11, checked in at The Taj Tower. Five of its restaurants welcomed the diners. The Tower wing had reopened 24 days after the terrorist attack on the city of Mumbai.

The Tree of Life, a memorial in tribute to all who lost their lives in the hotel during the terrorist attacks that commenced on the night of November 26th, was also unveiled at the hotel. The names of the thirty- one fallen will be inscribed at its base, "a symbol of permanent remembrance for all of those who fell within the building." For the present, there is a simple tablet bearing the names standing beside the Tree of Life, amidst the glowing candles.

The Tree of Life is a tribal work of art in metal by Jaidev Baghel. It formed part of the hotel's art collection and originally stood on the sixth floor, under the dome where it withstood and survived the attack unscathed. The Tree of Life is a powerful symbol for many cultures and is often related to immortality.

As a result of the attacks, the Taj has launched a fund to support all the victims of the attacks, not just at The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, but also across the entire city.

The guests that evening were there to express their solidarity and support to one of the city’s most beloved places – many are more than regulars, to some it is a ‘second home’.