The aftermath of 26/11

The news on 27/11 that India was facing one of the biggest terrorist attacks in its history, chilled us all to the core. Mumbai was under siege, terrorist bloodied the city with bombs, guns and grenades.. Hundreds of lives were taken away, while our brave commandos tried and succeeded in bringing the situation under control.The newspapers were filled with news and stills of the terrorist attacks. Among the countless lifes taken were also the lifes of those brave people who died in the attempt to save others: Hemand Karkare, Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Thukaram Ombale, who helped catch the lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, alive...

Eventually we moved on.. Mumbai showed it's resilient spirit by bouncing back to life within weeks of the attack. The Taj and Leopald cafe opened almost immediately.. and the Oberoi later. Life went on, the streets became busy again, and the bloodstains were all wiped off... On the other side, interrogations and trials went on. And finally today, once again, we reminded of that horrific attack by the news that Ajmal Kasab had been sentenced to death by hanging. The news was met with jubilation by almost all of India. The wounds of the dear ones of those who lost their lives may not heal with this news, but it definitely gives it boost...Terrorists now know that they will not escape alive if they threaten the sanctity and security of this nation...

People may try to destroy India, they may destroy buildings... burn down streets... but they would never be able to break the fire within us, because poor or rich, white or black; the one thing we all are, are INDIANS..

PIGEONS IN THE CITY

As usual, I wake up late, decide not to iron my dress(as usual!!), gulp in some breakfast and rush up to the road to find that there are no autos on the road.. I walk, walk, walk and walk... until finally an auto driver shows some mercy and when I reach there, I see my usual bus pulling out of the stand.. Now I have to wait another 10mts for the next bus. As I stand there [fuming], I notice some pigeons strutting about around my feet... They are searching their way through the dust collected on the roadside for food..they are many of them, yet each remains alone.. None of them foraying into the others territory.. Everything about them fascinates me: their color, the way they fly, their mutual co-operation.... One of the pigeons looks up and I fancy to myself that it has met my eye. Unexpectedly, I find all my anger melting away and I smile at it...

By the time my bus has come, I'm not fuming anymore... I look out of the window, and see that my feathered friends have flown off. But I still smile in the satisfaction that in this city, that has grown so rapidly in the last few years, that you wonder where that old-city charm has gone, has not lost all of its innocence after all!!!!