Terrorists increasingly targeting tourist haunts (News Feature)

By Sunrita Sen Feb 14, 2010, 12:12 GMT

New Delhi - Leopold Cafe in India's financial hub Mumbai in 2008 and the German bakery in Pune in 2010: Both are favourite eateries for foreign backpackers and young people and both have been targets of terrorist attacks in India.

Nine people, eight of them aged between 20 and 30, were killed at a bomb blast at the German Bakery on Saturday.

There were more than 60 people in the crowded nine-by-nine metre premises, in the heart of Pune's upmarket Koregaon Park area on the eve Valentine's Day.

They sat on wooden benches on cane mats eating their favourites from a largely European menu ranging from sandwiches to omelettes and puddings accompanied by a variety of teas.

No one noticed when a backpack, like those every other person was carrying was left beneath a table, which was occupied as soon as it emptied.

When the powerful device in the bag exploded it left a huge gaping hole in the wall and injured 57 people.

Most of the young people at the table died, including a brother and sister from the eastern city of Kolkata who were studying at one of Pune's famous colleges.

The injured included a Taiwanese man who had come to visit the Osho Ashram.

The bakery was like second home to members of the Osho commune, which was begun by the late spiritual guru Rajneesh and draws hundreds of his followers from abroad.

Members of the commune in their maroon robes could be seen in the bakery all times of the day sipping tea.

Started in 1987 by a Pune resident who had lived in Germany for several years, the German Bakery is known for its wholesome food, particularly the apple strudle. It opens its doors at 6 am and serves customers late into the evening.

Federal home Minister P Chidambaram admitted at a press briefing in the city Sunday that the terrorists seemed to be targeting places frequented by foreigners and young people.

Besides the Taiwanese, the injured included nationals from Iran, Sudan, Germany, Yemen and Nepal.

Pune's landmark bakery has been reduced to rubble. But like Leopold's Cafe in Mumbai, which nurtures the bullet holes on its wall as a reminder of a November night that could not intimidate it into shutting down, the German Bakery too, hopefully, will reopen for its many diehard customers.

Leopold's cafe, a favourite with tourists and young people in Mumbai was one of the targets of a terrorist attack in November 2008 that left 166 people dead in India's financial hub.

'The German Bakery was a favourite meeting place where we used to hang out with friends,' said Pune student Raveesh Sharma. 'We'll go back if it opens again.'

'We were at the spot at the time of the blast. We helped to get the injured into ambulances ... but we are not afraid. Because if you are scared, you will not be able to go anywhere,' a tourist couple were quoted as saying by IANS news agency as they waited outside Pune's Sassoon Hospital to get news of an injured friend.