Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Finally.. a note on Mumbai.

I have not been writing for the last few days.. nothing new in that except that this one time it wasn't inertia. I did not write because I did not want to write about Mumbai. There was nothing to share.. nothing that I knew and the rest of the country did not know already. I followed the news on the television and in the newspapers, discussed it with family and friends, called up relatives in Mumbai, expressed my shock and grief at the loss of innocent lives, and felt as bad as everybody else. Having spent some of the most memorable times of my life in the city, I have always liked it so much.. and one of the fondest memories is standing at the Gateway of India and admiring the Taj Mahal Palace in the night lights. It saddened me to see this magnificent piece of history go up in flames. As for the precious lives lost, this one picture here explains it. This little girl, the same age as my own daughter, has blood all over her tiny body. Somehow I feel it cannot be her's, how can somebody have the heart to hurt a baby.. What touched me even more was the compassion in the cop's face. Aren't policmen supposed to be tough, and if this was how the toughest people reacted, how could we be any better. Sorry for the digression, I chose not to write about it. Firstly, everybody and anybody who ever blogged wrote on the subject. They did add different dimensions, perspectives and helped the 'government' with ideas on ways to tackle terrorism, but there is a limit to novelty. After which, it was repetition and only that. But I seriously do not think that blogging can help a cause that 200 agonizing, untimely deaths failed to. It might help the writer to ease his pain, but it revives it for the readers who go through it all over again. Off course it is not forced on them, you can always skip the post that you don't wish to read, just like you switch the channel if you don't want to watch that telecast. Secondly, I don't think that not writing on the subject doesn't prove that one is indifferent to it, just like writing doesn't necessarily mean that you are very sensitive. I was surprised to see readers condemning bloggers who did not write on it. This post for one. It really did not make sense to me.. But I certainly appreciate the approach taken by a Mumbai resident. He made the headlines today by carrying a loaded pistol at CST to expose the security loopholes. It is just so in-your-face! The pen is mightier than the sword, no.. not when it comes to tackling terrorism.