Nov. 14: Mumbai had lived Friday the 13th seven years ago.

Mumbai 2008 (164 dead, 308 injured) and Paris 2015 (129 dead, 300 injured) are comparable in scale and the shock-and-slaughter tactic.

The harsh truth is that the 26/11 attacks were seen in some capitals as a reflection of the age-old rivalry between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and other issues.

But the attitude of the British government has shifted a little because it realises the pool of militants which provided the 10 young men who sailed to Mumbai determined to kill as many people as possible perhaps also supplies those intending to do harm in western cities. That said, IS in Syria is a new factor.

Whether Paris 2015 will have any impact on prompting the West to pile pressure on Pakistan to hand over the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks remains to be seen.

At Wembley last night, British Prime Minister David Cameron had mentioned Mumbai as he set about introducing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Cameron told the Indian-origin audience: "You suffered on the streets of Mumbai, we suffered on the streets of London. The cause was the same. Extremists who want to divide our country. And together as we showed today we will defeat them."

There was a more considered reaction to Paris from Cameron today: "Ever since the co-ordinated firearms attacks in Mumbai in 2008, we have all been working together to ensure we could respond to such an attack."

In Mumbai on Saturday morning, some were hearing the echoes of the Kalashnikov gunfire and wincing at the memory of flying shrapnel.

As a model, Amruta Raichand was famous for weaving "Mummy ka Magic" for a white-goods brand. The mother of a one-year-old, Amruta was at the Taj Palace and Hotel on November 26, 2008, to celebrate her birthday with her family and friends.

"There is no magic solution to ward off terror strikes. I feel if governments want, they can stop this. The number of those insane people is but a handful, on the other side is the entire world," Amruta said.

Seven years ago, she was in one of the suites with her guests, waiting for her table at the Wasabi restaurant, when the first gunshots rang out.

"We thought they were firecrackers. One of my uncles had joked that the city seemed to be celebrating my birthday with firecrackers. Soon, we knew the grim facts. It was five years before I could bring myself to celebrate my birthday again," said Amruta, now a TV anchor for a food show.

She spent all of Saturday watching news on television for updates on the Paris attacks.

"That night of terror, bullets flying and grenades exploding, came back to me when I heard of the Paris attacks. People... just chilling in bars and restaurants, letting their hair down and then suddenly.... I know what it is like," Amruta said. "We were just lucky to have survived."

Restaurants were among the targets in Paris. As in Mumbai.

Aashish Contractor, a doctor and a 26/11 survivor, counts himself lucky.

A witness to the aftermath of the attack on Mumbai's Leopold Cafe, Contractor had reached the spot moments after the carnage that killed 10.

"As a doctor, my immediate reaction was to bring as much relief as I could.... The goal of terrorists is to create rift and have people turn on each other. It all depends on how a city and its people react. Forgiveness is the way forward but justice is equally important. That is what people did in Mumbai and I hear that is what common people are doing for strangers in Paris - going out there and helping others," said Contractor.

Former police chief D. Sivnandan, who headed the Maharashtra CID during 26/11, said like in Mumbai, the Paris attackers worked in pairs or as "terror buddies". "Both were well-coordinated attacks. Both were carried out by suicide strikers - around eight people seemed to have been involved in the Paris attacks, all have perished. In Mumbai, of the 10, nine perished and only one (Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, who was hanged later) could be taken alive," he said.

Amruta said she had not and would allow such attacks to affect the way she lived. "I am not going to be afraid or stop eating out or not travel because of some insane people."