and by Ashoke Dasgupta

Canadian companies should not fear doing business in India following the recent bomb attacks on Mumbai, says a Winnipeg businessman who assisted victims at one blast site.

"The show should go on," said Hemant Shah in a telephone interview from his home in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

"Life should go on and (Canadian business operators) should not get discouraged about doing business in India."

Hemant Shah

The managing director of Winnipeg-based Cubex India Pvt Ltd., Shah lives for half the year in Winnipeg and the other half in Mumbai, where he was born and raised. He has no plans to curtail his business activities in India and suggests doing business in Mumbai amid the possibility of terrorist attack is no riskier than anywhere else in the world.

At least 200 people were killed and more than 700 injured when a series of eight co-ordinated bombs struck seven first-class cars a few minutes apart on one of the world's most crowded commuter lines July 11.

Cubex provides drilling services to the oil and gas sector, and sells mining equipment and aviation equipment in Canada and India. Shah also arranges the training of Indian pilots at a Winnipeg flight centre.

He was in his office near the Andheri train station at about 6:20 p.m. when a man rushed in, asked to use the phone and explained what happened, although Shah did not hear the blast at the above-ground station.

Shah phoned his wife Hina at home, told her to watch TV for news of the incident, and then rushed with others to offer assistance.

He helped load victims, many of whom were suffering from cuts to their heads, into cars and other vehicles that took them to clinics and other health-care facilities, and also provided his cellphone so concerned people could contact their loved ones.

As he was helping, he stepped around many strewn body parts.

"Lots of people were on the road," says Shah. "Lots of people were trying to help. Everybody was helping in some way because when you're in shock, you don't know how to act or what to do."

Several people with whom he was acquainted were killed. A few other executives from Calgary and Toronto, who are friends of Shah, were also in Mumbai at the time of the blast, he says.

Winnipeg businessman Rupinder Brar, president of the Jorgenson Group of Companies (JGC), says Shah was in the right place at the right time when the people of Mumbai needed him the most.

"He was right there, helping search for victims, scrambling through wreckage, helping survivors deal with the trauma and helping contact loved ones," says Brar. "This is a prime example of what India and Indians are about, exemplifying the strength and resiliency of the country and its people."

JGC has been doing business in India for more than two years and employs more than 200 people in its Chennai-based facility, which includes a call centre and IT area.

"We've had many phone calls and e-mails from so many friends, family and business associates here in Canada and the United States, asking us if anyone from our company was affected, and telling us how tragic a situation this was," adds Brar.

"We know from experience that Mumbai is a resilient city with diverse groups working together to achieve a common good. Recent events will only make them stronger and more determined in continuing to be the backbone of India as it powers its way to becoming a world leader."

Shah says Mumbai showed incredible spirit as the city's commuter railway resumed operations less than 24 hours after the blasts.

"I don't think it's going to affect any businesses," says Shah. "Initially, everybody was worried for one or two days, but Bombay is back to normal."

Authorities believe the blasts may be linked to Muslim militants who are fighting New Delhi's rule in the disputed state of Kashmir, located between India and Pakistan. One Islamic militant group, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, has denied any involvement, while a man claiming to represent al-Qaeda has said the terrorist group had set up a wing in Kashmir.

"It was a very cowardly thing that was done, and whoever did it will be punished," says Shah, adding the U.S.- and U.K.-led war on terrorism is needed.

This wasn't the first time Shah was in Mumbai when bombs struck. He happened to be flying into the city the night of March 12, 1993, when a series of 13 bombs rocked the city.

Canadian and Indian businesses will likely be pleased with his decision to continue doing business in Mumbai. Shah, a Canada-India Business Council board member and former Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board member, immigrated to Winnipeg in 1976 and has been doing business between the two countries for 30 years.

In 1990, he received the Manitoba Export Award for developing business ties with India, and received an entrepreneur of the year award from the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Royal Bank of Canada in 1993 for his overseas economic development efforts.

Shah says he does not plan to get any post-traumatic stress counselling, but admits he had to do something to calm his nerves after helping victims get through their ordeal.

"I had a couple of shots of scotch," he confesses.