Nagpur: A year after Mahal riots when the night echoed with sirens, tear gas and slogans, the city’s old quarter appears outwardly calm. Today, everything is normal, yet memories of that night continue to linger among residents who witnessed the violence up close.One such incident that residents still recall is that of Harde Aaji, who narrowly escaped tragedy that night. As violence raged outside near Chitnis Park square, flames from a burning vehicle spread close to the window beside the bed where she was sleeping, filling the room with thick smoke leaving her struggling to breathe.“Her daughter-in-law panicked but managed to pull the bed away from the window,” recalled local resident Ritesh Badwaik. “We couldn’t reach their house immediately, but we rescued her and rushed her to hospital. She recovered after two-three days of hospitalisation, though her health deteriorated a lot after the incident,” he added. The trauma of that night took a toll on her health. “She took a long time to recover after the incident,” said her son, Sanjay Harde. “She passed away about eight months ago, but that night deeply affected her,” he added.For many families, the riots left emotional scars that took months to fade. Neeraj, a resident who spent the night helping injured people and arranging first aid, recalled the fear. “My son kept asking what was happening. Everything was fine till the morning, and suddenly all this began. He asked his mother to call me again and again because he was scared something would happen to me.”Even today, Neeraj says, it took his child a long time to forget the images and sounds of that night. Though life in Mahal has largely returned to routine, residents say the events of that night remain a reminder of how quickly peace in the tightly packed neighbourhood can unravel, and how long it takes for trust to rebuild in its narrow lanes.
