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Family Of St. Pete Woman Loses Friend

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By KRISTA KLAUS

kklaus@wfla.com

Published: November 29, 2008

Julie Weintraub has been spending a lot of time on Facebook the past two days.

The social networking site is the St. Petersburg woman's link to family members living in besieged Mumbai, India.

Nobody in her family was hurt in the attacks that rocked India's financial capital Wednesday, but a family friend is among the estimated 150 dead.

"We just got a text message on the phone saying the last body pulled out ... is a close friend of ours," Kavita Pandit, Weintraub's cousin, said during a phone interview from suburban Mumbai.

Pandit says the country has a new sense of vulnerability after the attacks. She also says she is bracing for significant changes in everyday life as the nation tries to defend itself.

"There will be an enormous amount of security," Pandit said. "We will have to wait in line to get into a mall, to get into a theater, because luggage and bags and handbags will be checked."

Pandit says she hasn't left her house in two days because of reports that two terrorists are on the loose.

"Will they arrive in my locality and suddenly start shooting? I don't know. I don't want to be involved in some crossfire, so I'm staying home," she said.

Weintraub, who runs an interior furnishings and design business in Clearwater, also is staying home for now. She was planning to visit family in Mumbai in February, but those plans are on hold.

"It's probably too dangerous," she said.
Weintraub says she's mourning more than her trip. She visited the Taj Majal hotel more than 10 years ago and has been eager to share it with her children.

"I remember being there and being enamored by it and saying I can't wait to take my kids here someday. It was just devastating to see such a beautiful place being torn apart," Weintraub said.

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