At 11.20 a.m. on Thursday, December 13, it seemed like business as usual in the Central Hall of Parliament. With "Coffingate" dominating the headlines, Parliament was in disarray as soon as it assembled. Members rushed to the well in both Houses, shouted slogans and traded charges, forcing the presiding officers to adjourn the Houses.

PRIME TARGET: Advani leaves Parliament House after taking a round of the complex

In the Central Hall, there was cross-party bonhomie. There was much backslapping as Treasury and Opposition benchers munched subsidised sandwiches, sipped coffee and exchanged gossip. I was on the trail of a story relating to "Coffingate" and had dropped by at Central Hall. I was chatting with Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj and Congress MP Shyama Sinha when we were startled by the rat-a-tat of gunfire. The Central Hall was unusually packed at that time of the day-more than 250 MPs and a handful of ministers were present. But nobody had a clue to what was going on. Outside, the firing continued and it was only when we saw a stretcher being wheeled in that we realised something horrible had happened. MPs are generally a hardboiled lot, but suddenly there was panic all around. If the security staff had not sealed all entry points, at least a few of them would have made a beeline for the exit-and perhaps walked straight into the line of fire. I grabbed a cell phone from a minister to call up Aaj Tak, which became the first TV channel to flash the news of the attack on Parliament.

On the worst day in India's parliamentary history, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan was a harried man. As TVs beamed live images of the crossfire, Mahajan's cell phone was clogged: desperate relatives wanted to know the fate of MPs. Those who tried to call home found the lines jammed. Mahajan turned to me and asked, "Prabhu, where's the Aaj Tak camera team?" Shortly thereafter, Mahajan went on air on Aaj Tak to make the first official announcement that all MPs and ministers were safe. It was again Aaj Tak which set the record straight after one TV channel announced that the whereabouts of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee were not known when he was actually at Race Course Road.

Back in the Central Hall, MPs sat glued to TV sets, watching developments barely 50 yards outside. Home Minister L.K. Advani walked in with Arun Jaitley and M. Venkaiah Naidu and the Congress' Manmohan Singh (he stayed by Advani's side throughout without uttering a single word), sending securitymen into a tizzy; Advani was among the terrorists' prime targets. Mahajan virtually grabbed Advani's hand and took him to his own room. There Advani was closeted with Jaitley, Naidu and Defence Minister George Fernandes. He also spoke on the phone to Vajpayee.

Later, in the room of Lok Sabha Speaker G.M. Balayogi, Advani watched on eight small TV screens live images of the action outside, caught by close-circuit TV cameras placed around the Parliament complex. By then, the firing had quelled but when Advani expressed a desire to take a round of the complex, securitymen would have none of it. Advani brushed aside their objections and began walking-to gate No. 5 where lay the body of a terrorist who had been shot down by the Special Protection Group and to gate No. 1 where another had used explosives strapped to his abdomen to blow himself up. He specially sought out CRPF constable Suresh Kumar who had single-handedly killed three terrorists.

At 11 a.m. on Friday, December 14, less than 24 hours after the first shot was fired, Parliament met, albeit in a sombre mood. And it was business as usual.