13th July, 2011: 7:05 p.m.
On that fateful evening, I was in office as usual. The day was nearing an end and most of the colleagues carried tiring faces and had retarded from work mentally. At around 6.30 p.m., with headphones On, I barged into a conference call. The conference meet was arresting and I kept making notes of minutiae.
Within few minutes, the floor was astir; I could sense the brisk movements around. I saw some colleagues making an exit from office in mass, while some stood in scattered groups chatting with concerned expressions on their faces and their eyes rolling. I resumed my focal on the call unaware of what has struck us all. My teammates kept popping at my workstation intermittently and to avoid any intervention to conference, they dispersed silently. I could sense a vibe of ill-being and then finally, I pulled out the headphones off my ears to catch the buzz. One of my teammates asked permission to leave and she disclosed the tragic news of bomb attacks that hit Mumbai. Before I could react, few more teammates, announced that they are leaving for the day. I was numbed; I was cold; I was in no state of existence! I could barely think...about my loved ones and their safety, about my safety, about the mishap and it's consequences. A teammate then asked, "Mam, aap ghar nahi jaa rahe ho kya?" (Mam, ain't you going home?). Donno what was up my mind at that moment; I plugged my ears back with headphones and replied sternly, "THIS (the client call) IS MORE IMPORTANT!"
By that time, my phone kept buzzing with calls from my family. They told me to leave office and get home soon. I affirmed their concern and disconnected their calls. After the conference call was over, I took up small small tasks to keep myself busy. I was reluctant to get out of office. I was still cold; may be I was praying, may be I was hurt, may be I was undergoing Newton's law which says, 'To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.' Yes, the blast action was so strong, that it made my reaction still.
I could overhear many things from colleagues about the blast that took place. It was irresistible and so I opened the NDTV web site and learned the details that three bombs had ripped apart several lives in South Mumbai! Dishearteninggggg..!! My thoughts reached out to God that why do YOU create a life on the Earth if it is snatched ruthlessly like this, even before its time has come!
The day ended in turmoil and prayers in heart for the ones who lost their lives, who lost their loved ones, and also for ones who are affected physically only to be left challenged for the rest of their lives.
My thoughts go back to the B-day. How many Mumbaikars, like me, were reluctant to leave the office? How many of them felt threatened for their lives? How many of them remained unfazed about the attack? How many of them still recall the terror that took place recently?
I know how I felt that evening. The blast did not threatened me a bit. After hearing the news, I (tried to) bounced back to work; I wanted to escape from the tragic news; the furore of attack was par -- Why do the citizens have to put up with such situations every time the so-called 'fringe elements' strike? Why aren't we safe and why do we feel like being taken on a ride by our politicians who do not hold themselves accountable for the losses caused by scams or terrors. The common man suffers; which is COMMON.
We all exist in a state of acceptance that our terror-struck city will bleed time and again. It now seems like a routine in Mumbai; like a season that comes and goes! And we Mumbaikars, bag the award of being 'tolerant' and 'resilient' people. The spirit of Mumbai is "handicapped" by our own government who has failed to deliver every single time. The spirit of Mumbai is nothing but a fundamental choice of every Mumbaikar to get back to work regardless of loss.
12 days has rolled by. People have got back to their lives like usual. Life has not changed for me today, but tomorrow, it could be me! After so many debacles that our city has gone through, I still hold faith for our city and its well-being. I still believe, there could be someone out there who could help us combat these attacks.
Mumbai will suffer as long we choose to let it happen! Our city needs us yearningly. As a youth of this nation, hope we find the "path" that could help us serve our nation well; if any opportunities show up, hope we never fail like our politicians; hope we never hold ourselves back to serve our fellowmen and fight out the evil unanimously.
This one is to all the peace-breakers who target the beautiful aamchi Mumbai and its people; the headlines upcoming will be ----
MUMBAI STRIKES TERROR!!!!!
Amen.
