Mr. Singhji, the Bay has been Bombed....

Today I write as a disappointed and frightened civilian. Bombay, and I absolutely refuse to call it Mumbai, has been my home.
Bill Waterson said once, "A man's house should be his castle, but it need not be a fortress." How true is that...
I refuse to punctuate my sentences with exclamatory marks because frankly, its nothing exciting or new. We all know what I am going to write. I sat home the whole day, listening from friends what is going on the city. I do not have a television at my place and my Dad commented that we were a whole lot happier this way. I am curious even when I know I might vomit when I see the pictures. I surf the internet and I talk to friends and I find out how many people were killed, how many places caught fire, how many bombs went off, how many Policemen died... Have I become a sadist I thought? The answer is an emphatic "maybe". But this was not my choice. This is what terrorism has done to me. I watch a man bleed but I dont flinch anymore. I feel bad but I am not scared at all. I know deep down I could have very well been THAT man but I go out anyways. I feel very bad still how many children are left orhpaned because of one person's blind-sight, but then I almost forget about it in a day or so. I believe every single person in Bombay is going through the same thing.
I believe we are not getting stronger, we are just getting used to it...

When I look at Bombay, variety stands out. I can see many people, of so many distinct personalities and weird characteristics. I can write a blog about such people. Well I guess I really can...

Lets begin with the first kind. I'll just call her All the Way Aunty, because she really goes all the way to tell every person who can hear about what is happening. She is a walking news-channel of the extremely wrong kind. I met All the Way Aunty yesterday. Lets see how I heard it All the Way from her. A person went and told her, "I heard a bomb exploded in CST. I think I saw it on the news. Should I send my children to your tution class?" What All the Way Aunty told me frantically, her eyes blod-shot and scared, "Bombs going off in the city! The newchannels are covering it right now. School and colleges closed tomorrow!"
Did you just see what happened? Its a good old fashioned game of Chinese Checkers.
But she is a real help sometimes. I was in college the other day. A student comes and tells me the trains are not working. I just dont listen to him. I get to know every time even if a train is half a minute late from All the Way Aunty.

The next person is the Told you So Uncle. This person is a real gem. He reads the news in the papers and goes, "Tsk Tsk... told you so!" And this is the tip of the iceberg. He speaks with a grin on his face and an expression as if people really regret not coming to him for any advice. He speaks of Government policies, he speaks of safety, he speaks of Police ethics, he speaks of mindsets of people.... But then he sits in his house comfortably, sipping his cup of coffee, believing that his job is only to tell people where they go wrong.... People can do it all themselves.... Better watch out for this person... If you dont, well, I told you SO...

The next person is the Why me off ALL people Ramesh. Ramesh lives in a small flat in Parel, confined to his one bed room hall kitchen, where he harbours his entire family of five. He earns exactly as much he needs to run his menagerie. He has started saving money slowly because he will buy the Nano as soon as it comes out. He will finally stop travelling by the overcrowded trains where people come a little closer than you actually want them to. He walks out of the station hurriedly and goes for his job. He looks at every female that passes by him as if he is seeing someone of the opposite sex for the first time. He goes down and enjoys tea and sutta at the nearest tapri. He comes up and listens to his boss shout at him. His friends have ditched him at the end of the day and gone together. He walks alone. He enters the station. He sees a man fumble with his bag. Out comes a loaded gun and people run helter-skelter. And as he finds himself at the wrong end of a loaded gun, all he can do is wonder... "Why me of ALL the people!?!" He falls down and there's a sharp pain in his chest. He wants to die. Because he cannot afford any hospital bills right now. Pay day is still a week away....

The next is I dont give a **** Kenny.... Kenny is in the bus now. The road is empty and there is not a single person other than him in the bus. Even the conducter cant stop sweating and palpitating. "Why are you even out?" he asks Kenny. Kenny cant listen to him. His ipod blared in his ears. He has blinded and deafened himself from this world. He is a rebel. He doesnt care. His mom is calling him again and again. "Why are you calling me so many times!!???" he shouts at her. He looks out again. He is going out with his friends to the nearest Lounge. He knows there will be no one there. He feels he is not hurt. Why should he bother? He has to die someday he believes. But now in this world of smoke and alcohol, he has nothing left to believe in....

The next two very weird characters are Roadside Romeo and Footpath Fatima. They can be seen getting cozy behind every rock and behind every tree, in every garden, in every park. They are alone now. No old people to shout at them. No young children to goggle. They are finally free they believe. Looking at them makes you feel sick, and you allow yourself a chuckle. He is sleeping on her lap and she has her dupatta over his face to shield his eyes from the sun... or whatever... The police have better things to do now.... A very cheap date for the two.... only fifty bucks if Pandu intervenes.... The whole city burns and these two get hot...

Next is probably the weirdest character - Hey he's Cute Cindy. Cindy is nothing like Cinderella. She walks up to a crying friend. Her friend is all worked up looking at the pics in the newspaper. She has lost someone dear. She has called Cindy so that she can cry on her shoulder. Cindy has been her best friend for a long time. And Cindy walks in, a smile from ear to ear. "Dont you think the terrorist is cuteee????" The reaction on her friend's face says it all.... Cindy smiles....

(Will be continued in the next blog...........)