Tuesday 30 December 2008

I - the awakening

One of my favorite writings, fuelled with emotions and a keen sense of achievement. I came up with this verse on the eve of my graduation. For the first time ever in my adult life an accomplishment that raided my head, these are a few lines I hold very close to my heart.

I- the awakening
I am the mountain I am the sea
I am the wind and I am free
I am the sun burning and hot
I am not a coward that’s what I am not!
I am the bird soaring the sky
I am the jet plane flying high
I am the star shining and bright
I am David with Goliath’s might
I am the moon with its craters
I am good but I can be better
I am thankful for your nicety
I am not cold hearted if I don’t show pity
I am what I am; it is what I choose to be
I am not bothered about what others see
I am sporting if you are too
I am forgiving, so forgive me too
I am as frank as can be
I am sorry but that’s just ME!
- Trupti, May 22nd 2003

Thursday 18 December 2008

Ignorance is BLISS

The resource walked herself to office today unusually late from her usual reporting - not expecting much of the mundane work today. This was predicted to be one of those days when there is little to do. Another resource, lets call her resource 2 , called in sick and added more to the loneliness of resource 1. Thinking about random things to keep oneself occupied, she - resource 1, did what she normally would do, check the news on ibnlive.com, the hot topics being the furore over the Antulay remarks over the suspicious killing of the ATS chief ... sigh, she thought, nothing in this country can be achieved without sensationalism. A few moments of pondering and she checked the watch, another 7 hours to go.

No mails or communication from other resources (read co workers), today was really a lull day. Resource 1 busied herself into reading anything. Friend 1 called enquired about some books regarding Inca civilization and mythology. Trigerring a wave of excitement of learning and reading something more interesting, Resource 1 quickly Googled around to read about Inca's, Macchu Picchu, Lake Titicaca in the South American countries of Peru and Bolivia.

Taking to the topic rather too seriously she even read about other related topics of Inca civilization and early history, religious connections with Inca etc. All these as much unrelated topics for Resource 1 - but today she had the inclination to absorb as much knowledge about anything. Another check to the mails - still nothing. Lunch with Resource 3 and little chutzpah later only 4 more hours to go before Resource 1 can pack up for the day. Discussions on how Dostana is not really such a good movie and Rab ne . . . is a earnest effort. The self endorsed critic,Resource 1 thumping opinions on the minion Resource 3 - she only a few days old in office and doesn't really have an option but to agree.

After a trivial rounds of conversations and no work - back to the phone, updating ' what else's' to the GEEK, he was as usual hammering the digital bugs with some pest control measures using scientific language only he follows. Armed with the recent Inca knowledge and a sudden affinity to visit South America, Resource 1 burped out to GEEK, he suggested some more reading, apparently GEEK knows these things already, since his Childhood. Not a surprise for Resource 1 GEEK knows almost everything about everything. Looks like his reading bug has infected Resource 1 too, NIIICE!

Followed to the tee, GEEKs suggested topic was next on the Google search list, NAZCA lines, geoglyphs drawn in the desert can be seen even from satellite pictures. Strange how come ancient people have such sophisticated technique and mechanisms to do things that lasts generations, some Tera- ages of forward thinking. Resource 1 was completely absorbed into reading about what these lines and figures could represent, aliens, religious signs, pathways ... yes she did go on to read related articles too.

Not sure how but somehow diamonds and South Africa were next on the list. After a quick synopsis of Blood diamond, history of South Africa and why is it so rich in diamonds. The band of stones on the ring of Resource 1 did they come from one of these mines, the myth about diamonds of being precious and rare - its all hyped, diamonds are much like the other gems and found in such abundance everywhere around SA. The truth about the huge diggings and the wiped out hills and the big holes the mines have made in African countries. After a rather righteous dose of humanity and must Save the environment - time check again, 30 minutes more. Again no mails.

A cuppa tea down - almost aiming for close of day - Resource 1 was proud to have spent the day learning new things, much about history read only in Tintin comics. A feeling of satisfaction devouring - routine always puts hurdles in path of new discovery. On and off it is a good feeling to try something new. Surpirised at herself, and a new found interest in history again - there is much that one does not know. Almost happy that there was no work today and no pending mails, that led her back to the ancient ages - she discovered, OUTLOOK was in offline mode.

As the title suggests IGNORANCE is BLISS only till it lasts :).

Friday 5 December 2008

Walk On,Mumbai!

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong
Walk on, Walk on
What you got, they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, Walk on
Stay safe tonight
- Walk On, U2.


A simple message on one of the online social forums and it led to a gathering of thousands of people near Regal Cinema for a peace march to protest against the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. Citizens of Mumbai from all walks of life came here. Some who had lost their close ones or friends, some who had a point to make, some who wanted to show their support, some just for the heck of it and others who just tagged along with friends. The crowd assembled there without any agenda; not sure what to expect. But they still came in huge numbers. Tricolors and placards held high with slogans against politicians bashing them for their inability to handle a crisis, again! Some of the interesting slogans read

  • We thought you stood for justice, not ‘Just Us’.
  • Mr.Terrorist you wanted us in numbers – Here we are!
  • I am deaf, I am dumb, I am blind – I am the GOVERNMENT.
  • I am not afraid – I am frustrated.
  • There are a few more terrorists in India – they are called POLTICIANS.
  • Don’t be afraid of those who came by BOATS, worry about those who come by VOTES!

The walk which was absolutely leaderless, with no political force or organization behind it – I suppose this was its significance since the coming together of so many people demonstrated the solidarity among the Mumbaikars. The absolute horror that the city was subjected to with the massacre at the Taj, the Trident and the VT station has got the people of the city asking a lot of questions. This was supposed to be a peace march in solemn condolence of all who lost their lives and also for those who suffered the trauma of this event – but the outrage was obvious. The anger was directed to the politicians and Pakistan – although I didn’t completely approve of this, the feelings of the masses were ubiquitous. Enraged voices of ‘Murdabad’ and ‘Hai Hai’ echoed in the crowd as did the sounds of ‘Vande Mataram’ from some who equated the martyrdom of the slain soldiers to the freedom struggle.

As the night dawned and the dark waters of the Arabian Sea in front of Taj grew more serene, through the promenade that led to Gateway of India the reality and the intensity of the incident finally sank in my heart. The hotel stood before me wounded – its exteriors charred by the fires that broke out – news channels had already reported that it would take over a year to have it restored completely and functional. I could almost imagine what the sight must inside and the extent of the damage. The area in front of the hotel going towards the Radio Club was cordoned off. People lay flowers near the barricades in memory of deceased and many lit candles that fought hard with the gusty sea breeze. Taj, the hotel which is world renowned for its grandeur will now be known for something else too.

As the walk ended coming back a full circle to Regal, I made my way to CST for a train back home. It was the first time since 26-11 that I was going to CST and an unknown fear gripped me. Standing there below the huge ceiling I couldn’t help but spend a few moments thinking about that fateful day. I had a look around and saw bullet marks on pillars. 53 people died here – the number is small as compared to many hundreds more that are present here at any given time of day. A sense of relief came upon me as I boarded the train. Mumbai is not going to feel the same again – ever.

Reflecting on the past few days there are some things that have become evident.

  • India is rising in prominence globally. There is a Chinese proverb that says when someone is jealous of you, understand that you are successful. This seems to be very true in our case. But at the same time we cannot afford to get complacent about it. This means that we have to guard ourselves even more carefully. And the people appointed to do this better take their job seriously!
  • We definitely lack the infrastructure to tackle such situations. A lot of experts have suggested that investment in homeland security should increase – I say yes! Please use our taxes wisely.
  • The gathering of the citizens sent out a signal to the administration and the politicians, the people today do not buy their word. The message was two pronged – one that said we will not tolerate this slag anymore and those responsible will be accountable. Secondly, the city is united – Mumbaikar’s are ready to take on the challenge of fortifying the city.

This is the first time ever the response from the people has been so grave. People wearing T-shirts of “I LOVE MUMBAI”, citizen groups and forums discussing issues that handicap the city and are demanding action, blog posts and articles gutting out disgust at the carelessness of the government are all signs that people are shaken up. A sincere urge to bring about change enthused in minds of many. Today we walked together - tomorrow we should come together and bring about a constructive change.It’s a radical wave sweeping all over and it sure does look like is going to make a difference. Join in and be part of this change.

Monday 1 December 2008

Father Let my country awake ...

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

- Rabindranath Tagore


It was with these noble and pious thoughts that many of our ancestors and heroes of yesteryear's led India to freedom. Today we only find ourselves become captives again at the hands of frugal politicians who exhibit symbiotic relationship with scum of the society.

The entire country today stands to falsify the vision of Rabindranath - because we dwell with fear in our hearts, today we are ashamed of our own country and its people - for their acts of cowardice, their non accountability to the position and the ranks that they stand for. These are the representatives of the nation today who stand to face the future with their feet stuck in scams, bureaucracy and corruption.

Today we have nothing but remorse to feel,about these so called self- labelled leaders who inspiration is to fulfill personal agendas by risking the fate of the nation.

Since childhood we learn about Unity in Diversity as one of the strengths of our country - today we find this Unity only spelt out in books as the country is strewn in parts on basis of language and origin. Gone are days when leaders gave speeches that spawned inspiration in the masses that we could throw out the British Raj, today we have only 'Raj' remaining and all that this 'Raj' can accomplish is to sensitise and politicise social issues and create chaos. The outcome of which is a divide - who says we drove out the British, their roots are widely spread and the strategies they used to rule us are still prevalent - we still fall prey to the 'Divide and Rule' policy. And worst of all we let them get away with it.

We have ourselves to blame - the attacks at Taj and Oberoi were not meant only to bring down these magnificent structures but to bring down a reality to us that we need to WAKE UP. Open our eyes to the fact of how susceptible we really are, how hollow our morals are - how weak and untrustworthy our words remain and more so how much time we waste in internal conflicts that it takes a catastrophe of this magnitude to act like a shot in the arm. SHAME on US.

The ineffectiveness of the administration, lack of organisational structure - the inability of a statesman to take a decision in the hour of crisis were exposed at this time. The valor that we salute after brave men have been slain - I wonder how these men sleep at night with so much guilt at heart. It is only when the entire system comes crashing down like a pack of cards that any efforts are made to re-inforce it. It was obvious there was no contingency plan - Mumbai was not prepared to handle this adversity. A few men, boys actually can create havoc with guns blazing at common people. 10 men with no face, with no fear, no religion, no country but with a motive to destroy and devastate, thats all it took to bring an entire city to its knees.

It is no use documenting events that have been so explicitly and vividly splashed upon on our media channels, we have all been subjected to the ghory details of last week's happenings. So what are we going to do now? Is it going to be one of those things that just happenned in our lives? Will this be going in our books as the darkest hour in Mumbai's history? Is it going to be one of those incidents that you share with friends over coffee? Or is it going to be another one of those debates that has no outcome? To everyone who cares to call themselves A Mumbaikar I pose you a simple question - what are you in your capacity going to do?

The answer is simple - we need to come together. Come together as a society - as a city - as a nation. Leaving aside our differences - we need to channel our efforts to re-build our nation. We need to come together as enlightened masses who make our politicians answereable for thier actions. We need to come together as a civic troop who upholds the rules,respects and enforces them. We need to come together as one voice which speaks for benefits of our society. We need to educate the minds of our youth to motivate them to work toward the country. We need to participate - be active in voicing opinions,we need to support causes and issues that will enable the administration run effectively and efficiently. But most importantly we need to take ourselves seriously - 60 years of Independence and we are still limping. We cannot take the freedom and the right to live in this country so lightly. Any administration will function appropriately only if it gets the support of its members. We need to recognise ourselves as members of a responsible society and support it in every way we can.

Acts of violence and terrorism are a reality that we have to live with today. They are outcomes of a society that has not been fair. A society that has been prejudiced on religious grounds - on racial grounds - scars of which will remain on generations to come. The only way we know how to get back to such heinous crimes is by committing another one. But that does not really solve the problem. The divide only becomes wider and deeper. We cannot think uprooting it in a day or in a month or in a year. It will take time - but we cannot just wait and watch for this time to come. There are changes that have to brought about - changes to our systems, to our behaviour , to our tolerance and our acceptance of each other. We have to look beyond the realms of colour and religion and equalise ourselves on grounds of humanity. Free ourselves of the grudges and not let emotions come in way of rationale.

So many innoccent lives have been lost - so many brave men have fallen in the line of duty - what have we learnt now that we didnt already know before. It took us 150 years to end the Empire's rule and earn our freedom from slavery of the British. We are own slaves now, slaves of showing indifference, of our laziness and of our ignorance, of taking things for granted - we need to fight for our freedom again and break these shackles. Let's not just mourn the death of these brave and let's not let their sacrifice go waste - the opportunity we have today has come for this price and we must now make the most of it!

- Dedicated to the brave men and women of the hotel staff ,the Mumbai Police Force, the NSG and the Naval Commando's.