Journalists covering a tragic event are often swept with the flow of other people’s emotions, often mediated by an overdose of messages crafted to overwhelm. It’s often challenging, in such situations, to locate the true colour of your emotions, and to draw that elusive line in the shifting sand between what you feel and what you are expected to feel. Inevitably, though, a journalist may choose to play the story as he or she wants the reader to feel it. If that amounts to betrayal — of the subjects in the story, the true nature of emotion, and of the real truth thereof — the writer shall forever be haunted by it.
Nine years after I wrote the 9/11 stories I was assigned, I revisited them in my head. And here’s what I wrote on Yahoo! India (where I now work):
Even in death, Hemant Puttur gifted prosperity
Puttur, the town in southwestern Karnataka after which 9/11 victim Hemant Puttur took his name, now boasts a welcome arch, shopping mall and community hall in his name. He gave even in death.
9/11, 26/11… they are only stories
What 9/11? Barely three years since 26/11, we have forgotten Salaskar, Karkare, Kamte and Unnikrishnan. For us, terror attacks are only stories. In 2002, when I spoke to the father of 9/11 victim and Wipro employee Shreyas Ranganath, he reminded me of that chilling truth. I feel no different today.
Btw, if you scroll through the comments, you’ll see some gems from our most erudite readers. 
When 9/11 happened I was watching certain co-workers dance with joy. I was in a state of shock and horror to see people celebrating death of innocent people.