Watchful eyes, thoughtful mind: Bleeding city.......

Today's blog is completely different than all my previous ones.....and it is about something that I really care about and am distressed about these days. Its about my most beloved city in the world, my hometown, my Mumbai, maajhi Mumbai.

The previous blog entry was about something that India should be proud of, Chandrayaan lunar probe. This one is about something India should be ashamed of, Mumbai terror attacks on 26/11. You'd say, why should India be ashamed? Those who did it should be! Well yes, but we should be ashamed, politicians and common people alike, that we let it happen.....and we HELPED it happen. The terrorist caught alive has clearly mentioned how the locals helped him and his colleagues with all the required info, places to live etc.

This blog entry will probably not have any logical flow as I'm just going to spill out my emotions, sorrow, anger, frustration, respect.....everything. I'm sad that once again my city has been attacked and wounded, about 200 people dead, including 3 of the topmost police officers of Mumbai police. But I did not write "200 innocent people". Because I'm not sure they should be called innocent. They are guilty of not protecting their home, not being alert, not being proactive. Of course, how many people who live in Mumbai think of it as home? Very few! For most, it is just a shelter, to which they have come to prosper and send the wealth to their actual home. So no wonder Mumbai doesn't have anyone to look after her. Mumbai is for everyone, no one is for Mumbai.........that's the sad truth of my cities life.

Why do these attacks keep happening over and over again and no one bothers to stop them? Because no one cares. "Jaane de yaar, apne ko kya karna hai? Kaun padega lafde mein?" (Forget it, bro. Whose going to get into the mess?) is our typical response to any crisis situation. Mumbaikar (as the residents of Mumbai are called in native language) makes a mistake of thinking his/her indifference towards the situation is actually "courage". No its not! People in and from Mumbai are proud of how Mumbai gets back to normal within 24 hours of any kind of crisis, bomb blasts, communal riots, terrorist attacks, you name it. Well, resilience is good but it should not be confused with, again, indifference. Getting back on your feet real fast after being punched hard is good, but then you should at least try to fight back after that. Not just keep getting punched and stand up again. That's NOT courage! This is something I find lacking in my fellow Mumbaikars. We light candles, have silent marches, black days, protest rallies for a few days after anything ugly happens. But then we get back to our lives.....because if its not your home, you don't care if its dilapidated. You just think, I'll find another "shelter" when this one bites the dust.

A favourite escape route for all us Indians is to blame everything on politicians and then sit quietly ourselves. Our definition of democracy is "for the people, of the politicians, by the politicians". All we want to do is cast one vote every 5 years, our responsibility ends there. All these factors add strength to the already strong resolve of those who want to blow India to pieces, in every sense of the word.

I do not expect this little blog entry of mine will bring on any revolution but I do believe that if 1 out of every 10 Indians puts in some effort to do their bit for the country, there will be a HUGE difference in the way our nation runs. Lets use the 2nd (almost 1st) largest population in the world for some good of its own!

JAI HIND!!!