A Gateway to Terror

I sat through nights witnessing yet another terror act unfolding on TV. It was, I should say one of the most harrowing of experiences in recent times. I just sat there helpless, miles away, pained, frustrated, angered and sad at the situation we found ourselves in. I thought it was just another attack that would end in a couple of hours but even after close to 55 hours when I write this, it’s not completely over.

A handful of insane trigger happy kids held Mumbai to ransom and brought the commercial capital of India to a standstill. Images of weeping people frantically looking for the loved ones at hospital door steps kept me awake for nights. Terrorism does not belong to any religion; it is a RELIGION on its own for a few.

One of the most telling images of the night was watching the flight of doves/pigeons, symbols of peace and tranquillity, being displaced from the century old dome of the Taj Mahal Hotel, their nocturnal abode for generations, by the deafening sounds of fire power and the raging flames of terror. This image said it all. Peace had been shattered.

I see no reason in complaining about the break down of machinery, inefficiency of the system, intelligence gathering failure so on and so forth, how can one simply prevent a group of highly motivated people, so motivated with malice that they are willing to even kill themselves for a cause, known only to them, from running amuck. In situations like this even the best of machinery is bound to crumble. I was surprised in the way the western media particularly CNN portrayed the situation, they seemed to be indulging in the traditional Indian system bashing and criticising our inefficiency in handling such emergency situations, they should look back 7 years and see how they reacted to 9/11, attacks unprecedented such as these could not have been handled better.

On our own national front, not long ago in the very same Mumbai the cronies of a political party got together and thrashed the daylights out of small time Pani Poori vendors, Taxi drivers, menial labourers for not belonging to their state, here you had kids also not belonging to the state nor the country holding up the city, and heroes again not belonging to Mumbai trying to protect a potpourri of nationalities. Wonder where the neta and his cronies were???

The foreign minister of the biggest democracy claims on the aftermath of this dastardly act and I quote ‘I am sure that India will be unified to ‘FACE’ such acts of terrorism’ a typical quote coming from a 70 + year old foreign minister, I would have approved of his statement had he replaced ‘FACE’ with ‘COUNTER’. Words like ‘COUNTER’ would send a stronger message than the subdued ‘FACE’. Why should the so called ‘super power in the making’, the only country that has not declared recession in these times of worldwide economic turmoil ‘FACE’ acts of terrorism when we are capable of ‘COUNTERING’ them.

I’m sure that the think tank of the Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood and Mollywood are already drawing out plans to make movies probably titled ‘One night at the Taj’ or ‘60 Hours in Colaba’, ‘Colaba Killings’, ‘Mumbai Massacre’, ‘Nightmare on Marine Drive’. (I guess I should patent these titles). The likes of Madhur Bhandarkars, Sanjay Leela Bhansalis, Mani Rathnams and Priyadarshans might already be working on the script. I know its no time for humour, but wish these events are not made into just another movie or end up being completely forgotten after a couple of weeks, instead I really hope that this act brings about a drastic change in our systems and the way we look into securing our citizens.

Bombay (Mumbai) is a city that churns out heroes by the dozen, day in and day out in the erstwhile Bollywood who even in the last scene of their REEL life return unscathed after a successful hostage rescue mission with dialogues like ‘Main Hoon Na’ but what we witnessed in the last 60 odd hours were heroes from the REAL life who said ‘Main Hoon Na’ (I AM THERE) before the operations and were martyred by the words ‘Main tha na’ (I WAS THERE) after doing all they could to protect us from the ensuing danger. A real life ‘Main tha na’ will run eternally at the box office of our hearts compared to the Reel life ‘Main Hoon Na’s’ 100 days at the box office. I salute all members of the Army, NSG, Navy, Police, Hotel Staff, and members of the common public who have laid down their lives and have become immortal heroes in real life.