Last time I visited Mumbai was in February. I was there with my family. We had been invited to the wedding of the daughter of a friend of mine. Our friendship dates back to the 70's.

We stayed at the Oberoi. Part of the wedding celebrations took place at the Taj. Both hotels are now under attack.

This morning both my wife and I called and text-messaged our friends in Mumbai, none of whom had been hurt, but everybody - both them and us - is saddened by what has happened.

During our visit we saw how Mumbai is developing very fast. New high rise buildings had emerged in and around the city since our last visit. There was a sense of optimism and self-confidence.

The cowardly murderous attacks, which we have now witnessed, will not change that. India is a very large country. The Indians are hard working, they value learning and their efforts have been unleashed by the implementation of market economics. Hundreds of millions of people are benefitting from the rapid growth of the economy. That will not change. Today's news will be yesterday's news tomorrow. The blood spilled will disappear from the TV-screens and the world will move forward. No one can stop that. But the grief of those who lost their loved ones will not go away.

In the morning, the day after the terror attacks of November 26, 2008 in Mumbai

Olli Raade

Editor