Bomb in Fort near the check point

Had a really nasty shock today. At around 12.00 noon there was this thundering resounding noise and our entire building shook. I was with bare feet, standing and doing some filing and I felt the floor reverberate and the sound of the bomb really scared me. We promptly did what we are NOT supposed to do. Rushed to the nearest windows and peered out to see what had happened.

A big black ball of smoke rose behind the Hilton area and we thought it was on the railway track. We saw the milling crowds, some of the injured being carried away. We later heard that a motorbike containing a bomb had rammed into a bus carrying policemen.

Rukshana kept telling us to move away from the windows. She behaved very sensibly I must say. She shouldered her handbag saying that she had no intention of ‘rustifying’ to get new identification etc and was even ready to quit the building at a moments notice.

Her presence of mind had saved her family in 2004 when the tsunami struck Sri Lanka on the 26^th of December. They had been at a seaside resort and noticed that the sea was receding further than normal and coming in closer than normal too. The first few waves had sent them promptly out of the hotel into the first trishaw and away from the seaside. They did not stop to collect luggage and handbags (though her mom had her handbag with her) etc., they had just left the hotel immediately.