Faith & hope: A week on, Jaipur tries to move ahead

TERROR, PAIN, HOPE: Jaipur is trying to the blasts in its stride and residents are hoping life in will move on.

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Keywords: Terrorism, Walled City

Jaipur: Exactly a week after the May 13 bomb blasts, the Pink City is trying to keep a straight face and look normal.

However, Sanjay Khuteta's world stands changed forever. One of the bombs had gone off in front of his shop, killing two of his trusted employees. His uncle was injured and is still battling for life.

Khuteta says, "There's a cycle with a bag parked in front of my shop even today. There is no security here. What is the government doing? Who do we go to and ask for security?"

Within the walled city, prayers are helping to heal the wound. Jaipur's oldest man — 139-year-old Habib Miyan — refused to celebrate his birthday and instead prayed for the victims.

"I have never heard of something like this in Jaipur, I feel very sad I pray for those who have been victims of these blasts and curse those who have done this," says he, as he kneels down to pray.

Meanwhile, tourists are back on the streets admiring the Pink City, absorbing its flavors, but they too are wary now.

A tourist, Ditte Smed says, "We are not exactly scared, because we knew it was probably a one-off incident. I was a little nervous, but now I have walked around and everything is just — well not normal, but it's near normal. So it's okay. "

In the end, Jaipur's economic, cultural and religious hub, its walled , stands tall over all that it has seen in the last one week — terror, trauma, pain, compassion, faith and hope.