Through My Teary Eyes

An article written on the 12th July 2006

By the grace of almighty, I was lucky and at work , when 8 blasts rocked the city on 11th July 2006 ! Nearly 200 innocent people killed and above 400 injured....

Our office announced on the PA that it is safe to be inside then to venture out. We did stay put till around 9-930 pm. The lifeline of Bombay had stopped in its tracks and all the commuters were stranded ... out on the roads after a long days work .

The scene outside on venturing out, traffic snarls were one of the worst i have ever witnessed towards suburbs .

What was overwhelming and heartening to witness was that absolute total strangers were helping other fellow commuters.

Localites were down on the street / high way giving out water / tea / biscuits to stranded people. It was like one big rescue operation carried out by the lion hearted locals of our city .

They were stopping vehicles so that lift could be provided.....We had around 5 people in our CAB, towards town....The cab snailed and inched .... mid way near dadar we gave lift to one of the commuters on his way home from airport.

Somehow I reached home, shaken around 1130 pm, with a myriad of emotions....feeling for all the affected people and at the same time thinking about all those noble souls who were out there helping people.

The news channel were running replete with the visceral images of the carnage and each channel trying to out do each other in their bid for better coverage of this calamity.

Got up in the morning, and saw some more news on TV of the nightmare that happened last evening. One of the news was that the lifeline of bombay is coming back on track. Started for work, noticed lesser number of daily commuters but nevertheless the city had bounced back on its feet.

And to think of it, our city was voted as one of the rude cities in the world. I am proud of the character of my city and its people. What we only dont need at this moment are the good for nothing politicians who will want to milk this sad event to serve their ulterior motives. What they choose to ignore is that this was an Act Of Terrorism and should be seen that way....No religion in the world supports killing of the innocent , whatever may be the provocation.....!

Does any act of terrorism differentiate between communities before killing them ? For all we know, one of their own would be also travelling unaware during this carnage ....

I do not see peace ever descending on our planet in my lifetime (being a cynic!) , but what I am utmost sure of is that for every such act there would be thousands and thousands who would put up a brave front and will rise again and again and again.....Therein lies my eternal hope.