In a humiliating experience, State Reserve Police Force jawans guarding the Taj hotel were forced to spend a night on a pavement after an embarrassed Maharashtra government removed them from the nearby Gateway of India which they had turned into a make-shift home.

The iconic Taj Palace and The Oberoi wear a solemn look as they stand facing the Arabian Sea but restoration works are fast progressing inside the luxury hotels, extensively damaged in the 26/11 terror strikes, to throw them open to public again by this yearend.

If you planned to welcome New Year on the floor of a hotel in the city, leaving behind the traumatised days following the Mumbai terror strikes, then get ready for unprecedented security checks at various hotels.

He lost his wife and two kids in the last month's terror siege but showing determination and grit, general manager of Taj Mahal, responded to the call of duty as the iconic hotel reopened on Sunday.

Like a phoenix that rises from the ashes, the Taj and Trident hotels on Sunday reopened their doors, three weeks after the November 26 terror attack.