MUMBAI, India — Ward 1 of Hinduja Hospital treats male patients with psychiatric and skin disorders, but not the kind seen here Wednesday.
There was the man suffering such mental anguish that he emitted terrified, bone-chilling screams every few minutes. Propped up in beds around him were other dazed-looking patients with fragments of metal embedded in their skin -- along their backs, in their arms and legs.
This was the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in India in more than a decade, a series of synchronized explosions on a crowded commuter railway that killed as many as 200 people and wounded hundreds here in the country's financial and entertainment capital.
On Wednesday, the day after, the people of this western port city struggled to return to business as usual, evincing both anxiety and aplomb in the face of massive tragedy.
"Life must go on," 32-year-old commuter Sachin Kotian said as he resolutely prepared to board a train at the Matunga station, one of the worst-hit sites.
Eight explosions in less than 20 minutes ripped through trains and platforms on a key rail line in western Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, at the height of Tuesday's evening rush hour. Officials blamed the attack on terrorists, though no one had taken responsibility.
Authorities Wednesday sifted through the wreckage for clues as to who carried out the attack and exactly how. A police official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the blasts were caused by timer-equipped devices, not by suicide bombers.
The death toll continued to climb -- to 200, one state official said -- and hospitals staggered under the load of treating hundreds of injured.
Frantic relatives still struggled to learn the fate of loved ones. And there was concern that anger could ignite sectarian violence in a city where Hindus and Muslims have engaged in deadly clashes.
But the overall impression Wednesday was of a community trying hard to pull together and soldier on.
Mumbaikars are conscious of their city's image as resilient, exciting and self-assured, the shining success story in India's steady economic rise, and few seemed willing to surrender that reputation. Even the Bombay Stock Exchange defied expectations and closed up 3%.
"Mumbai is the heart of India," said Neha Mehta, 24, "and Mumbai people are very practical."
