Worried family members try to contact loved ones

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The first thing Shama Grover did when she got word that a group of terrorists had attacked India's commercial and financial capital of Mumbai was to call home and see if her sister and her family were okay.

"My first reaction was to call the family and see if they're okay," said Grover, a staff member at Little India's Maharani Fashions.

"They are fine but it's scary. People are so scared there."

Originally from northern India, Grover's sister now lives in Mumbai with her family. Luckily they live across town from the attacks.

"It's insane, really insane. I think it's bigger than 9/11," said Grover, who has visited the beautiful Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which was targeted during Wednesday night's 10 coordinated attacks.

"It's a lovely place to visit. This is such bad news."

Ashan Veera, who came to Canada from Mumbai in 1996, said that people are afraid to leave their homes because many of the attacks happened in public areas such as five-star hotels, a restaurant, a train station and a Jewish centre.

"Now it's not safe. Everyone is afraid to go outside," said Veera, who works at the Maharani Emporium on Gerrard Street East.

Veera, who raised her two sons in Mumbai before the family relocated to Canada 13 years ago, still has several relatives and friends there.

"I have a lot of family there but everyone is okay," said Veera, who also immediately called her loved ones when she found out Mumbai had been attacked by terrorists.

"It's very, very, very upsetting. Everybody's upset," she said.

"I don't know why they've done this. They're crazy people."

Grover and Veera are among an estimated 300,000 GTA residents of Indian descent.

Many have spent the last few days glued to their television sets to get the latest updates on a series of attacks that have rocked India's financial capital of Mumbai.

So far more than 300 people have been injured and more than 140 have been killed, including a Canadian.

The Deccan Mujahideen, an Islamic extremist group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Their motivation is still unclear.