Dead man talking

First thing first; my sincere apologies to all my friends for keeping them waiting so long for my new blog. The only reason being that I finally got a job and since then life's been busy, hectic and good too. But even when I am travelling to my workplace, I only think about what next for my readers. And finally, I am ready with few articles which will hopefully keep you engrossed.

To begin with, the idea of 'Dead man talking' came to me when I was just pondering over a particular article published in a magazine at my workplace. However, that particular was article was real and mine is totally fictional with a pure intention of making you readers feel good at the end after reading it.

Anyways, I will let my work do the talking now. Hope you guys like it.

Dead man talking....

I died this morning in my sleep due to massive heart attack. It was about 4.30 am, but my wife noticed it after two hours. My neighbor, Dr. Satish declared me dead and said that he would have tried to save me, had he been called in time.

It is a Monday. By 10.30 am, people known to me got the news and started coming to pay their last homage. I am placed in the hall in a conspicuous location, with enough space for people to move around and have a closer look at me. I my self (you may like to read as ‘my soul’ which is still around) am standing in a corner of the room, looking at the events unfolding after my death. May be I will leave to heavenly abode, after the last rites.

I noticed my wife Aruna, still in her night suit, crying inconsolably, besides my body. Sitting next to her is Nitya, wife of my neighbor Satish, trying to calm Aruna. Satish and his wife were around since morning and made most of the arrangements. On a routine day, by this time, I and Satish would meet at the lobby on our way to work, after saying goodbyes to our wives, usually taking about sundry issues like the coming elections or unkempt corridors of our apartments.

I noticed Satish getting a little impatient. Poor guy, he is really in an awkward situation. He discreetly indicated his wife to come outside. When Nitya came out, he said in a low voice that he is getting late to his clinic. Nitya told him to go and get ready, and she would come in while, hoping some other women would come to stay with Aruna.

I could see my other neighbors coming in. I could make out that they were on their way to office, as they are dressed in formal office wear. As expected, they lingered on for a short while, made their presence felt, and left.

After a while, my office colleagues came in as a group. May be they have come by the office bus, which is generally used for such exigencies. My assistant Govind, my secretary Richa and my Driver Nandu, all stood mournfully by my body for a while, and came to the corner where I was standing, to let others pass by.

Govind said to Richa and Nandu, “What a nice man he was. Very untimely death. I was shocked to hear this. Can’t still believe.”

Nandu and Richa nodded sadly in agreement.

I felt glad to hear these kind words from Govind.

Wait, is this all? No.. Govind is saying something more. His lips are not moving, but I can hear what is being said by his mind. Govind is saying, “God has his own ways of dealing with people like this man. He tortured me for the past two years. He made me do his personal work, as if I am employed in this office to attend his private jobs. He made me run to his bank, which is half a kilometer away to deposit his cheques and check his balances. Made me chase the RTO office guys for his driving license. Had never let me use the office car even for his personal work, while this driver Nandu is smoking and gossiping throughout the day in the parking lot. What a sadist he was. Inspite of making me work like a donkey, he never gave good appraisal report about me. I would have got promoted last year, but for the poor rating given by this bugger in my confidential report. Good riddance. May be, Mr. Mathur will be my new boss. At least, he will not ask me to walk half-a mile to check his bank balance. As such he will be glued to Richa and will not have time to give me work. By the way, did I wish Mr. Mathur this morning? ..”

I got shock of my life. (Oops.. Can’t say so, since I am no more alive.)

I turned to Richa. Richa is keenly looking at Mathur, my colleague and friend. Her eyes are welled up with tears and she is looking very sad. Mathur, my best buddy, who was standing by my body, is trying to make his way towards Richa.

Richa, my secretary for past three years, must have understood me better than Govind. Let me listen.

Well. Richa’s mind is saying, “ Hope Mathur comes here. I can cry on his shoulder. This man died at the right time. He was not allowing me to spend time with Mathur. Whenever Mathur came, he would give me some typing job and send me away to the computer isle. Stupid man. He never understood, Mathur came only to see me and not to gossip with this crappy old-fashioned man. Hope I will now be posted as secretary to Mathur. Once I become his secretary, it should not take more than six months for Mathur to propose to me. May be by next year, I will be Mrs. Mathur. Ha, I can imagine myself cozying up with Mathur in his Mercedes Benz.”

I could see Mathur moving closer to Richa. He took her hands into his and said, “Richa, you seem to be disturbed. I think it will be better if you come with me. I can’t let you be here for long.” Richa gave a long mournful look at my body, while her tender fingers with long nails polished in pink were still getting soothed in Mathur’s hands.

Richa was wrong. Given the rapidity of progress, I expect she would be Mrs Mathur in a month’s time.

My driver Nandu was chatting outside with the bus driver. I heard him saying,“Sahib was such a great man. Always took good care of us whenever in need.”

I peeked into Nandu’s thoughts. Nandu’s mind was saying, “God’s ways are really unpredictable. What a miser he was. He died leaving so much wealth behind. He never helped any body. Last week when I asked for twenty thousand rupees for my daughter’s wedding, he said he himself is in need of finances to repay some loan. Who on earth would believe this? As if I don’t know how much he earns and spends. But at least his wife will have a good time with all the money.”

Oh my wife!. I rushed back in to the house.

My wife Aruna, my lovely, devoted wife, still in shock, is in semi-conscious state. She is looking so tired and helpless. I wish I had not objected her wish to pursue MBA after our marriage. What will she do now? Oh God, why did you let me die so soon??

Suddenly a loud voice crashed in my ears, “Sudhir, wake up, are you not going to office today?”

Who’s asking me this weird question? Don’t they know dead people need not go to office?.. Well it is Aruna. She is trying to wake me up.

Wake me up from death?

No wake me up from my dream.

I opened my eyes, clock is showing 7.30 and Aruna, still in her night suit, is holding chapatti dough in one hand and jostling me out of sleep with another.

I jumped out of bed and rushed into bathroom.

As usual, I met Dr.Satish in the lobby. He was calling up taxi as his car refused to start. I offered to drop him at his clinic, which is not exactly on my way to office. But I didn’t regret driving that extra mile for him.

On my way to office, I tried to reconcile my dream. I realized, this might be what is called as paying for our deeds. Good or bad.

I called Govind into may chamber and told him that I have revised his Confidential Report ratings and recommended him for promotion this year. He was glad. He thanked me vehemently.

While going out of my chamber, I told Govind, “ Govind, why don’t you use office car when you have to go out? As such Nandu is doing nothing throughout the day. He is always seen smoking and gossiping in the parking lot.”

Govind looked at me in surprise.

I couldn’t stop my self from saying, “Govind, don’t bother about my driving license any more. I will take care of it this weekend”.

Govind walked out of the room in trance.

Not to mention, I called Nandu and gave him a cheque of twenty thousand rupees, and conveyed my best wishes for his daughter.

I called Richa to my room when Mathur came by, and requested him to take Richa for lunch today, on my behalf. I told him, today is very special day and calls for grand celebration, as Richa has completed three years as my secretary, and she deserves a grand treat for bearing with me all these years. I added, I can’t join them because of a meeting this afternoon.

I called up Aruna during the day, and told her to take out her graduation certificate and other records, so that in the evening we can fill the MBA admission form together.

If I die tomorrow, I know I will be at peace.

Brain wrecker- 2

(This is the second part of my highly disliked Brainwrecker series. You are advised not to read the first part before reading the second part. Any damage to your brain or thinking capacity is purely intentional and won't be acknowledged by the writer).

Rahul was stunned to see Megha standing at the beach as soon as he came out of the tent. For miles and miles, blue water could be seen and it felt so romantic that he ran towards Aarti and took her in his arms. Suddenly the music stopped and the lights were turned on in the room. Rahul realized that Rajni was not standing by his side but she had already fallen down unconscious on the sofa. He started pacing up and down in the hall thinking about how to tackle this national crisis. Suddenly his phone rang and as soon as Ramesh answered the phone, Swati drove away towards the exit. He ran after her asking her to stop but she refused to stop the plane and the captain realized that they were about to take off and suddenly the balloon burst. Ramnaresh Sarwan was the next West indian batsman to walk in after Sehwag was out in the 24th minute of the first half. The excitement was increasing every second as the Prime Minister walked in to make the historical announcement that would change the future of the world.

Rohit couldn't think about any escape route, he was circled by the aliens who had alighted from the UFO on hearing his car horns. They were very tiny in size and no more than one feet each but he was still scared of the small guns they held and was not sure of the type of bullets the aliens used. He rued the fact that he honked at a UFO and not at a stray cow. Sanjana decided to be brave and jumped down from the eighth floor balcony only to land on a bed of roses. With all the greenery around him, Rajeev could not realize why he was kidnapped by Akbar's army when they could have simply bought him over by offering him a date with the gorgeous girl. Hardik finished his bowl of soup as he got ready to go to bed. It was extremely unnerving for someone who had never held a feminine hand to find a hot woman inviting him inside her bedroom. As soon as Shravan entered her bedroom nervous and excited about something good going to happen, she told him that she wanted him to get rid of the cockroach which almost crawled onto her feet.

I could not load the GTA Vice city onto my computer because the idiotic CD just refuses to get installed and I had to be content by just eating Golgappas. As Riya gave the card to the cashier, he refused saying their swipe machine was not working and Shruti had no cash on her. My hands ached from typing but Ryan kept running because stopping meant putting Mahi's life in danger. The Chinese scientist created artificial snowfall to end the drought which had been affecting China for the last 38 years and I have also ordered some artificial chinese rains for Delhi as it never rains there in the rainy season. As soon as the plane touched down on the tarmac, he waved the taxi driver to stop. Pakistan president said that they will not buy tomatoes from India because they had a good harvest of potato in Swat valley which is not the short form for sophisticated weapons and tactics.

Indian army has decided to recruit all the blue line bus drivers to man their tanks and to crush any Pakistani soldier who comes in their path during the India - NewZealand one day series. American president Barack Obama found it extremely difficult to convince L.K. Advani that he was not calling in to discuss Ram Mandir fund raising but to discuss the Indo-Pak relations after the Delhi government introduced a bill to build new flyover linking Lodhi Road to Commonwealth Games Village. Niyati was crying for help as aliens took him away and I wanted to help but my broom flying session was not complete so I could not do anything to stop the aliens as they grazed the grass disguised as cows.

Brain wrecker- 1

(The following blog is the most mentally debilitating and confusing stuff you are going to read at any point of time so please read it slowly and carefully to get the actual gist of the story.)

Rahul was very happy that evening when he stepped out of his office building and moved towards the car park. His class teacher had given him very good remarks on his English homework and she had specially mentioned this to all his fellow neuro-surgeons during the operation table lecture. Later that night that, Rohit's arithmetic’s and his vyakaran were classic examples of a cricketer par excellence.

Rajat walked towards the car park looking at the visuals on his mobile screen and he cried profusely just by looking at the pictures on the walls. He reached his slot and jumped on to his Nissan truck to drive off towards his house located in Southern part of Delhi. Just as his BMW screeched to a halt at a traffic intersection on the US-Canada border, he lowered down the window glass and called out to the man selling coconut water. The lady walked towards the car asking him if he wanted fosters or any other brand of champagne. Rahul said that he just wanted a copy of the day's Times of India and didn't want to stay over for dinner. He got the coconut water and paid 50 takas to the Bangladeshi who was selling the beers and drove off. Soon he reached an isolated part of the highway with tall and glitzy buildings all around and huge billboards lighting up the entire area. He entered the stadium to find it jam-packed with 120 thousand cricket lovers who had filled in to watch the Wimbledon final between Rajyavardhan Rathore and Tiger Woods. The weather was nice and sunny and the few people who were at the stadium were quite prepared to get a sun-tan under the floodlight towers.

As he got up after a relaxing sleep, Sonia started recalling the events of last night and a naughty smile spread over her rose-petal lips. She was riding her horse quite superbly and the dacoits were nowhere in sight. It seemed that her Ferrari was no match for the Santros which the Pakistani soldiers used to chase her down. She realized that it was quite dark and after so many hours of leisurely driving on the mountain roads, it was time for her to stop and gaze at the beautiful night sky.

"Rashmi, please finish your homework before you go out to play with your friends" said Aakanksha's mother as she ran out to hit Prakash with a sandal. Sonia got down from the car and saw a nice green meadow spread over several acres and a mesmerizingly beautiful night sky. The entire stadium was reverberating with chants of "Come on India" as the galloping horses relaxed.

Slumdog millionaire has won a lot of awards and accolades however at the same time Aamir's hairstyle has also drawn a lot of attention and its really shocking to see that Mohd Aasif admitted to drug consumption as Sachin ran to field the ball and by the time the missile hit the terrorist hide out in Pakistan Jayasuriya had completed his century which meant that Messi needs more strength and success to equal Pele’s world record number of football victories otherwise Sonia got down from her horse and walked towards a stone and sat down on it only to find that it was a giant ridley turtle and not a stone. She was scared and Prakash couldn't tolerate the pain as India was heading towards a 3-0 defeat in the world cup tennis finals at Wankhede Stadium Mumbai.

The public outcry against the infamous Mangalore incident where 40 Ram Sena activists were stoned by women who were allegedly molested by the terrorists has gathered momentum all over America and Australia even went to the extent of stating that they will stop playing cricket with England if the dirty water overflowing in the streets is not stopped by the BMC. The night was really cold and even though he was a Wizard, it was very difficult for Captain Stone Cold Steve Austin to keep sitting on the broom as it soared through the skies and bone-freezing breeze hit him in the face.

Swati understood that the beauty of this weather is to enjoy the pakoras and the soft music playing in the cybercafé but just then Shefali's phone rang and Rahul stopped his Nissan truck as he could not believe his eyes. There was a giant saucer type UFO parked right outside his balcony and the cricket lovers were forming a long serpentine queue to enter the circus armed with AK-47s, hand grenades and some of them even were on board T-72 battle tanks.


(To be continued....)

Have we forgotten Mumbai??

We have come close to one year of that gruesome terrorist attack that went on for 3 days. What happened in Mumbai in November end was unthinkable horror. People who were sleeping at home, people who were stretching on the pavements to relax after a hard day's work n people who were partying in the supposed to be safe and warm environs of five star hotels were riddled with bullets and blown to bits by grenades. Patients and their relatives lodged in a hospital were shot dead and innocent passengers waiting at the city's main railway station were hunted down. The horror of that night was beyond imagination.

I know that it’s already an old story and most people have spoken about it, argued and yawned about it. People have moved on and the extraordinary rage that was witnessed has subsided into the routine calm and carelessness of the great Indian populace. We cried for blood, talked about revenge and blah blah however, now most people won't even bother talking about it because it has been added to another of the dust wrapped incidents of terrorist attacks witnessed by us. However, for a person like me things have really changed. One can no longer feel safe anywhere. You don't know when from which corner a terrorist will jump out and blow you to bits or may kill your dear ones in front of you even when you believed that you are at a place far off from terrorism. Till this incident happened, I used to think that such incidents are fortunately not possible in our cities. When I read about the blowing up of Mariott hotel in Islamabad or read about the routine car and suicide bombings going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, I used to believe that it happened there because those are areas ruled by militants and though militancy is prevalent in India but still that kind of incidents were unimaginable. Now everything is scary because the unimaginable happened right in front of our eyes.

I am still scared, wounded and upset about this and I want things to be done in such a manner that the perpetrators of that night are destroyed and repetition of such acts is not possible. Time has lapsed but my frustration has only increased by seeing nothing concrete happening and mere press releases going on from all sides. Is that all we wanted, are we satisfied or should I say we are waiting for the next live coverage of terrorist attacks which will earn billions for news channels by providing them viewership for the breaking news.

Tell me friends, is my confusion justified or should I also shrug my head, get up and stop talking about it till the location and date changes or should we expect a better deal this time so that we can plan the future by having an assurance that a stray bullet or grenade is not going to hit us anytime. Is it a crime to talk about taking steps which ensure that we don't fear terrorist around the corner when we walk into the street.

I came up witht this write up as I personally felt that my previous post for the series did not have conclusive ending. So this is the final part of War on Mumbai series. It really took me long to complete the series and even more long was the process which I went through in getting all the right content for your reading.

Hope you guys liked my articles and I am waiting for your feedback on the same. Your feedback would help me analyze my own writing and I would make sure I don't repeat same mistakes in my future blogs.

Thank you for being there!!!

War on Mumbai-3

Few lessons from the deadly terrorist attack.

After the horrific terror attacks on Mumbai that were carried out over a period of three days, one was captured alive, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab. He is been treated in the prison like a princes and his demands too are increasing with each passing day. Right from Kababs, to writing a letter, to a perfume, free walking space and many others. What can be interpreted from these? I can only interpret that Indian laws are too lenient that we all are allowing such things happen and the trial of the terrorist is a joke now.

The brazenness of the incident combined with its potential to destabilize the region already has the counter terrorism world searching for lessons learned. Few have emerged.

The public expects competent law enforcement: By any measure, India’s response to the crisis has been underwhelming. Initial news reports suggested that some armed police officers hid rather than shoot at the attackers as they fired into crowds of bystanders. Others were simply outgunned. Meanwhile, the country's elite counterterrorism unit took some 10 hours to attack hostage-holding militants because Mumbai, a city of 13 million, has no SWAT-type group capable of fighting back.

The country's top security official, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, had already tendered his resignation. The prime minister, meanwhile, promised to overhaul the country's counter terrorism capabilities and create four more hubs for the elite response unit, which he did fulfill. But, in fairness to the Indian security forces, several security experts say that even an American city faced with simultaneous attacks at a rail station, major hotel, tourist hub, and religious center would be hard pressed to muster enough commandos.

Low-tech attacks can do tremendous damage. The attack itself appears to have required little specialized knowledge from the attackers. Automatic rifles and hand grenades appear to have done the most damage. Ten guys with guns and hand grenades in shopping malls in 10 different cities—or even spread out in one city—could bring this country to a standstill.

Terrorists can influence elections. From Madrid to Iraq to Pakistan, the fact that major terrorist incidents occur around elections is no coincidence. One particularly poignant half-page newspaper ad from an opposition party features a blood-stained wall and the words "Weak Government." Pakistan is no stranger to election terrorism. Candidate Benazir Bhutto was killed by terrorists during a heated election campaign against former President Pervez Musharraf.

The cure may be more deadly than the disease. India and Pakistan, the nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars and been close to several more. The last major military escalation came in 2001, when terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament, killing 15. (The Indian government also laid blame for that incident at the feet of LET.) The group's involvement in the Mumbai attacks could endanger recent cooperation between the nations, which in turn could complicate efforts against al Qaeda in the tribal regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. official’s fear.

"There are larger goals here, namely the hope that an attack against India would end intelligence sharing and cooperation in the region and allow [LET] and other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, greater freedom to operate," says one U.S. military intelligence official. "These were very public, televised attacks designed to force the Indian people to demand a response from their government. Sometimes the response is more important than the actual attack."

Despite promises of reform, don't expect systemic change. In the past year, India has experienced a dramatic upsurge in terrorism. Cities including Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and New Delhi have been on the receiving end of terrorist attacks.

Happy Independence Day!!

Jai Hind!!

Source: CNN-IBN and US News Week

War on Mumbai- 2

Before beginning the article, I would like to state that even after 8 months of the attack, on the eve of Independence Day, three cities have been put on high alert which are Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad where LeT (Laskhar- e-Toiba) are suspected to carry out terrorist attack. The fact is that even after attacks on Mumbai of such a magnitude, the government still has no proper plan of action ready and neither the security system for the common people in place. It seems to me that we are still as vulnerable as ever.

Now, I am sure this won’t surprise most of you reading my blog. It didn’t me. So let me not pontificate and let me start telling you more things.

Couple of months back, I went down to the coastline and found a few obliging fishermen who took Riya, Danny (he is my journalist friend working with network 18) and me to shoot the unending ocean. A little chatter later, I broached the terror subject. Once they were sure that I was not implying that they had some prior knowledge of the event, they started telling us about the hapless state of coast security. To their credit and I kind of liked that personally, they were really defending the coast guard with some misguided patriotism, but they did admit that they didn’t really see the coastguard much at all. They don’t remember the last time they had been checked for documents.

Few days prior to our visit to the coast line, we went to Dharavi. The mood there was angry too and although no one from the world’s largest slum had been killed in the attacks, they were offended that this could happen in India. But when it came to the real world- had they even seen an extra policeman in the vicinity? They had not. But that didn’t worry them. They told me very proudly that they were such a tight community that even if a stranger walks in, immediately he/she was asked who-why-when-what. And then they added that we will protect ourselves. We’ll give our lives for each other. But they were all little worried about stepping outside- catching a train- but like everyone in the city, if they had to do it, they would just go right ahead and do it.

What I liked was that the children were well informed and very opinionated- and not like in the main stream media (how children are traumatized by the coverage of the attacks) but they spoke like little adults. That’s when I turned to Danny and said, “This is when you realize why India is such a successful democracy.” Why? Because you had expected them to be more concerned about their own economic struggle rather than national security- but was quite surprised to find out that it was not true.

And that brings me to the real point I wanted to make. We had an in depth interview with one of the top management of Mahindra Group. He was very smart, introspective and very articulate. I would like to briefly recap some of the things he said to me in the middle of a deeply emotional crisis.

Firstly, he hoped that the result of this unprecedented urban anger was not that we secure ourselves and leave out the poorer sections. The fishermen, the people in Dharavi. Them. He also told us why this attack has struck a chord among the world. It’s the ultimate urban nightmare, he said. Ten men running around the streets of a modern urban city with machine guns and hand grenades. Honestly, I was getting the visuals of The Dark Knight in my head when he was talking and it sent a chill down my spine. He also touched upon the fact that because we tried to inject democracy in every aspect of our laws and the Constitution, there is no single unified commander-in-chief in India, and that needs to change. I think many people are echoing these thoughts.

Another interesting observation he made was about the ‘Spirit of Mumbai’. He said that the very people who built this myth following the other attacks were the ones tearing it down right now and that both are extreme emotions, and the only way forward is to find a balance.

After the attacks, the gut reaction of many was that they were scared the fallout of the attack would lead to communal violence. Indians have shown great sense of maturity in distinguishing an attack on India by foreign terrorist and the attacks between Hindu/Muslim factions within the country. This is vital, because it allows us to examine the situation at hand without further endangering the country by having to deal with communal violence as well.

We then visited a village just outside Mumbai. It seemed people there had watched the attacks on TVs, but most of them did not really understand the enormity of the attack. A few of them understood from the news that Pakistan is implicated and still seemed far removed from any urgent emotions. The rest seemed unaffected by what they had seen.

In fact, our search for village was a challenge, because many farmers have sold their lands and concrete structures are replacing them. There is enough construction work in the area to bring the fact that little India is rapidly urbanizing. And that means that the distance between them and the events unfolding in big cities is shrinking with each passing day. What this means that the largely urban anger that we are seeing will slowly penetrate into hinterland. As yet, it is a work in progress but I personally believe that television will be a huge catalyst in changing attitudes as much as changing the landscapes.

But as news channels feed more Indians, what message do they wake up to? It is not just the news anchors I am referring to, because we all know that politicians use the media for their ends too- whether good or bad.

Once Narendra Modi was asked about his reaction to the news item that Modi’s frenzied speeches were used in training camps to charge up these young boys. Dead panned, Modi told him that he had no idea about any such news. Later he had turned to the journalist and asked him whether he had forgotten about Godhra as yet or not.

Modi also categorically stated that he was ready to help the government in its fight against the terror. “At a time of war, there is consensus,” he said.

But there was something he was not telling us? In highlighting security in his future campaign speeches will he be tempted to cut this “India problem” into little pieces of Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs and Christians.

What would allow this division is another factor- as yet a non-entity. If any proof emerges that there were any Indians complicit in planning the attacks- and those happen to be Muslims whose sympathies lay with the extremist factions- then the danger of using that knowledge to play politics will lead to very volatile and most certainly violent situations.

So I have to ask, do we have it in us to further distinguish extremist elements from the majority of the Indian Muslims as we have distinguished between extremist elements and the general population back home. Quite a mouthful, I know, but a question to ponder.

But you see, the moment you ask this question out loud- “will politicians use the Bombay attacks as a platform to incite communal violence”- you expose the hypocrisy of such an electoral strategy.

We talked to people along the way, quite literally. Stuffing ourselves in a local train, we proceeded to a village just on the outskirts of Bombay. While in the train we found people eyeing our camera equipment, and then quickly offering their analysis of the situation. I was heartened to find that within the confines of that compartment, many diverse voices came out. A young boy, studying MBA, told me that he did not link these attacks to religion at all. It’s all about economics, he told me, and these young boys’ who fall prey to terrorist dogma only do so because they are poor and this is a quick way to earn money for their family. It’s quite true- if reports are to be believed then the captured terrorist told the authorities that his family was promised Rs 1.5 lakhs (little under $3000) for his services. That is the extent of this poverty that breeds discontent, he told me. This is not the first time, it won’t be the last.

But we might just come out of this danger.

To be continued...

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely mine and not of anyone else. The views are based on the detailed reports from various news agencies and my own personal research.

Sources: Danny, my journalist friend, Riya, accompanying me to all the places right from the coast line to Dharavi to small villages, News reports from CNN-IBN, US News Week, People of Dharavi, the fishermen, Niyati in UK and last, but not the least, one of the top management of Mahindra Group whose views have formed the basis of my article.

War on Mumbai

26^th November 2008 began as a normal day for the people in Mumbai. But for some 200 people, it never ended and for the rest of people, the terror attack has left such an imprint which would never be washed away from their minds.

For the nasty terrorists, the November 2008 attack was

It was just a different weekday
It was just a different Team
It was just a different Strategy

But for the Indian civilians,

It was the same old getting gunned down on the road for no reasons
It was the same old getting blasted in the street for no reasons
It was the same old getting handicapped for no reasons
It was the same old getting orphaned for no reasons

And the aftermath.

...........blood filled streets
...........houseful hospitals
...........destructed buildings and towns
..........hour long commando operations
...........death and panic everywhere

War on Mumbai, it’s just another routine nightmare for the Indians that has been continuing for so long.

Consider the following statistic:

1. 112 March 1993 – Series of 13 bombs goes off killing 257

2. 06 December 2002 – Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkoper killing 2

3. 227 January 2003 – Bomb goes off on a bicycle in Vile Parle killing 1

4. 114 March 2003 – Bomb goes off in a train in Mulund killing 10

5. 225 August 2003 –Two bombs go off in cars near Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar killing 50

6. 111 July 2006 – Series of seven bombs go off in trains killing 209

7. 226 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 - Coordinated series of attacks killing 172.

Governments have come and governments have gone but the nightmare still haunts us, the insecurity continues and the promises continue to be broken.

Excerpts from The Times of India few days after the attack:

There were no blasts in USA after the 11^th September, 2001 attacks, no blasts in UK after 7^th July London bombings, no blasts in Spain after 11^th March Madrid bombings. But for India, the agony continues. As per some statistics, there were around 56 bombings in 2008 alone.

We have brains that could accomplish missions to Moon. We have the bravest men who could just fall down dead fighting for the nation. We have a stable economy that didn’t shiver when banks and other financial institutes in US and UK touched the dust. But we never had a leader that could make strong decisions without considering the vote banks.

There were peace march protests at Gateway of India. People poured in from all parts of the city; and much more than anticipated. At one point, I found myself separated from the city. There was emotion, there was chanting. The calls for Vande Mataram made me want to cry, but those were drowned out by the cries against Pakistan, Deshmukh, Raj Thackeray and all the politicians in general.

Frustration, anger and helplessness were visible among the crowds. It had been an emotional 3 days for me as I watched Mumbai attacked, yet again. And as the attacks unfolded and counter attacks started, I wondered what would be India’s view after all this gets over? Will the usual ‘famed Mumbai spirit’ and the usual clichés of the city’s resilience to get on with the life start ringing again? But this time even the mumbaikar’s shouted back. Life moves on but our life has been taken for granted by the same guys whom we have elected.

The crowd was gigantic, unruly, pushy, enthusiastic, angry, sweaty, patriotic, considerate and unstoppable. But the view that I had allowed me to see things from a distance and brought home the fact that a few days after the terror attack, we were still vulnerable as ever. Our police for most part looked disinterested and fat, and while the crowds throng the Gateway, it seemed to me, from my vantage point, there is still no protection. No clear lines were demarcated, no surveillance of any kind.

The home minister of Maharashtra even had the audacity to state that such incidents happen in big cities’ and that too in a press conference. Does the guy even know the magnitude of the attack? If that’s not all, I wonder what really drove Narendra Modi to even think of having a press conference on Day 2 of the attack. How can someone even think of politicizing the whole issue?

Till few days back, BJP, MNS and the clan were pointing fingers at ATS chief Hemant Karkare and today they have put up boards across the city saluting him as a Martyr and letting the common people know that these boards have been put up by them- with larger than life sized party posters.

It came as a no surprise that Karkare’s family refused compensation from Narendra Modi government. As the NSG commandos mopped up the operations, in process losing out 3 brave men- all from different parts of the country, I wonder what Raj Thackeray has to say now. His sons of soil VANAR SENA didn’t turn up to save Mumbai from the ‘outsiders’. The real ‘men’ were fighting for Mumbai and the so called sons of soil ‘leader’ was playing with his pet dogs.

India, along with its people, is still waiting for that leader who would save their land; protect the people and who could stop the tears of the people.

Mumbai is the city where I have spent wonderful years of my life. It’s the city which is closest to my heart and will always remain so. And why only me, the city belongs to all the citizen of India. And as the city was laid under siege, I just cried in pain in Pune. Clearly the administration has not any lessons and I am sure they never will. Some day the scares on the Taj, Nariman House and the Oberoi would heal, the blood would be washed out; all the signs of the burnt places would be erased but what about the voices of the innocent dead victims? Won’t they haunt us each time we visit these iconic buildings. The time has come for the government to sit up and listen to the growing voices of the angry citizens who have lost the faith in the system.

They say public memory is short. The people who man this system might want to live in this belief but this time it won’t be forgotten soon. The country wants some answer. Mumbai wants some hard answers.

To be continued...

What if there are no women in the world????

One says that Adam got bored and asked God to give him a companion. Some say, God wanted Adam to sacrifice his one leg and one hand at the altar, if he wanted a companion. And when Adam requested God to give him somebody for whom he will only have to sacrifice a rib, God sent a woman. None of this can be believed.

Here is the truth: God made man and finding himself in good form…came up with a better creation – the woman. (Did I just hear the ladies clap?)

Anyways….I was wondering what would have happened if God didn’t make woman for man. Thus, all men were left to fend for themselves. Scary shit. Think about it….

Who would be our first crush? How would we spend our exam nights planning on how to propose the girl? How would we anxiously wait for that ‘yes’ from the girl? How will we become fathers? Who will tell us the good news that we are about to become fathers? For who will we sit outside a gynecologist’s and imagine a conspiracy theory being hatched against us? With whom will we walk in the evenings? Whenever we pass by a bakery, whom will we stop for? For whom will we shop? And the questions go on.

Now for the real Male Chauvinistic Pig part. Who will make tea in the morning and wake us up with a sweet smile? Who will scold us for taking the newspaper inside the washroom? Who will nag us to take bath early? Who will call up the office when we are down with fever? Who will iron our clothes when we are in a hurry? Who will wave at us when we race our bike/car towards the office? Who will be ready with piping hot coffee when we go back home? Who will help us with the washing machine? Who will make that tasty coconut chutney you like with your dosas?

Needless to say, with no woman in this World, life wouldn’t be the same. Imagine living with another man in your house. Scary! We all would be gays…and wonder how the human race will propagate. Perhaps…we would have found out a way to make test tube babies…but even then where would be egg come from? Gorillas? Wouldn’t that make the Human race huge and hairy?

On Saturday nights…the pubs and clubs would be full of men trying to woo each other. The only advantage as I see would be…we wouldn’t have to buy mock-tails, ice-cream and pop-corn to impress!!!

Koffee with Riya

This incident occurred precisely on 22^nd April early morning at about 4:40 am. Yes, at this time. We had just wrapped up our work and were sitting casually chit chatting about life, friends and all other things. And while discussing all such things, Mahi got this idea of grilling each of us with some of the weirdest, bizarre and personal questions to each of us and that includes Me, Mahi, Riya, Sahil and Niyati.

No one was ready to go first so we decided to come to a conclusion by drawing cue cards and by their good luck and my bad luck, I was the chosen one. Niyati was the first choice to ask questions but she somehow wanted to avoid asking me the questions, Sahil is too friendly to go into depth of my life and that left us with Mahi and Riya. Riya jumped to this opportunity to probe into my life (well she never misses any opportunity like this).

So people, here are the questions which were thrown to me in what was perhaps the best conversation I had with someone in my life and ironically with the best girl I have ever known.

Here it goes:

1. Last beverage? Coffee

2. Last phone call? Anu

3. Last text message? Sheetal

4. Last song you listened to? Main ja rahoon from Namaste London

5. Last time you cried? Last nite…

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice? No

7. Been cheated on? Never

8. Kissed someone & regretted it? No

9. Lost someone special?? Yes

10. Been depressed?? It would have to be the one constant thing in my life.

11. Been drunk? Never

About the film:

12. Title- Not yet decided

13. Person without whom the film would have been incomplete- Niyati

14. Best part of the film- my team entire crew

15. Most hilarious moment while filming- scene shot in Lonavala between me and Niyati when I go to escort her to her room and the other one between you and Sahil shot outside Mithibai College.

16. Most challenging part to shoot- the climax and laila o laila track

17. Persons you would like to thank for their contribution to your film- there are many like you, Niyati, Sahil, Sheetal, Shonali for the outstanding dress designed for the laila o laila track, Ashwin lights and equipments than various other authorities too.

These Past Year Have You:

18. Made new friends? Yes, many and perhaps life long friends.

19. Fallen out of love – no

20. Laughed until you cried – last week

21. Met someone who changed you? Yes

22. Found out who your true friends were? Yes

23. Found out someone was talking about you? Yes

24. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list? No

Truth:

25. How many kids do you want to have? If it were up to me, one..but it would depend on my partner too

26. Do you want to change your name? No.

27. What did you do for your last birthday? Nothing really.

28. What time did you wake up today? 6 AM

29. What were you doing at midnight last night? Playing NFS.

30. Name something you CANNOT wait for? Peace

31. Last time you saw your father? Some hours ago..

32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? Nothing.. or maybe everything.

33. What are you listening to right now? Listening to you.

34. Do you have a crush on someone? No.

FIRSTS:

35. First kiss- long time back.

36. First tattoo- not yet

37. First best friend- is working right now in a night shift

38. First sport you joined- swimming

39. First pet → never had any pet.

40. First vacation→ I don’t remember

41. First love →family.

42. First crush→ school teacher

43. First alcohol drink – can’t recollect

RIGHT NOW:

44. Eating → nothing

45. Drinking → coffee

46. I’m about to → sleep

47. Waiting for → your questions to get over.

YOUR FUTURE:

48. Want kids? yes

49. Want to get married? yes

50. Careers in mind? lots of options.. multitasking it shall be.

Your Favorite

49. Favorite food- Indian

50: Favorite holiday destination- London (never been there yet but it somehow looks inviting)

51. Favorite city in the world- Mumbai

52. Favorite pastime- swimming

53. Favorite sport- cricket

54. Favorite pick up line- Do you believe in love at first sight or should I pass again?

55. Favorite car- BMW

About opposite sex:

56. Love or arrange marriage? Love cum arrange

57. Lips or eyes? Eyes

58. Hugs or kisses? Both

59. Spontaneous or planned? Hmm…..both

60. Short or tall? Tall

61. Older or younger? Younger

62. Sensitive or loud? Sensitive

63. Love or lust? Love

64. Tattoos or piercing? None

65. Trouble maker or hesitant? Trouble make….thats always more fun

Have you ever:

66. Kissed a stranger? No

67. Drank hard liquor? No

68. Sex on first date – No

69. Broken someone’s heart -yes

70. Had your own heart broken - yes

71. Been arrested? No

72. Turned someone down - yes

73. Cried when someone died - Yes

74. Liked a friend that is a boy- No

Do you believe in:

75. Yourself → yes

76. Miracles → yes

77. Love at first sight → yes

78. Heaven → yes

79. Santa Claus → yes

80. Kissing on the first date? → no

81. Angels – yes

Answer truthfully:

82. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Yes

83. Had more than one girlfriend at one time? No

84. Do you believe it’s possible to remain faithful forever? Yes!

85. What’s the one thing you cannot live without? Peace

86. who’s the most awesome kid ever? it would have to be me.

Random:

87. Riya or Niyati? Both. It’s like choosing between 2 eyes

88. One thing you like about Mumbai- the fast pace life

89. One notion about Mumbai that you would like to change – that people are emotionless

90. If life had a rewind button- I would want to live again from the year 2003

91. One wish that got fulfilled- my friends have become one big family

92. One thing you wish from your girlfriend- that she would be my wife, mother of my kids

93. Last time you cried while watching a movie- towards the climax of Mumbai Meri Jaan

94. Last blockbuster movie you saw- Harry potter

95. Last disastrous movie- It has to be Chandni Chowk to China (and it even tops my list of worst movies of all time)

96. Any regrets in life- No

97. Any events which shouldn’t have happened- terrorism

98. Life in Mumbai or life in Pune- life in Mumbai

99. One day you wished had never come in your life- 10^th march, 04

100. Your motto for living- Enjoy each day in life and live and let live